


Lunar Embrace

by Hawkflight



Series: Thémata tou Chrónou [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Age Difference, Blackouts, Branding, Chains, Clothed Sex, Consensual Sex, Explict Sexual Content, F/M, Fever induced delusions, Forced Marriage, Forced Orgasm, Hair-pulling, Hallucinations, Humor, Loss of Virginity, Marriage, Nicknames, OC - Lonnie Cuthota, Possessive Behavior, Romance, Situational Humiliation, Spanking, Torture, Underage Drinking, Wall Sex, Wedding Night, marriage law
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-15
Updated: 2015-03-27
Packaged: 2017-12-29 13:04:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 26
Words: 113,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1005739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hawkflight/pseuds/Hawkflight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's not like the Ministry could foresee why this might not be a good idea. Most sixth years didn't make the cut for the marriage law at the time, just a few. One of those included Hermione Granger. And a certain Bartemius just had his name cleared under rather mysterious circumstances.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my marriage law fic. Out of the hundreds of thousands roaming the web. Got this idea the other day when I was looking at this pairing and figured it needed a different spin.

She poked at her food with the fork just waiting for the mail to come. For a letter that would seal her fate to someone else. She was nervous about it. She was nervous about being the only one in her group of friends that qualified for the marriage law that was passed just yesterday.

The Daily Prophet had been all over it. How any witch or wizard at the age of seventeen to forty had to be married within the next month. Apparently the Ministry thought it was appropriate to pass this stupid law while a war was on the rise. Of course, even with evidence that Voldemort was back they still did their best to ignore it anyways. There was a reason for the law though. Extensive research had shown that the wizard population was steadily decreasing over the years. The last wizarding war didn't help the case. The law was passed, easily.

More astounding news had been in the Daily Prophet. Only days before, Barty Crouch Jr. was cleared of his crimes. There was little explanation as to why in her eyes. He had been actively out to kill Harry during fourth year. That should have been enough evidence to keep him locked up in Azkaban for the rest of his life. Though, according to the paper he wasn't guilty. Some sort of tests had been run, spells used, potions, anything to make sure he was innocent of the crimes.

It shouldn't have been possible but he was a free man now. Probably just waiting to strike out at Harry again, under Voldemort's order.

"You need to eat, Hermione." Ron said, mouth already stuffed with food even though they had only been at the table for a minute.

She glanced up at his words to look at him sitting across from her. "Don't talk when your mouth is full, Ronald," she chastised, frowning as she spoke. With a sigh she diligently speared a grape onto her fork to bring to her mouth and chew, just to assure her friends that she was fine.

She wasn't really.

She hated this damn law. The actual name for it was one she found completely ridiculous. It very well stated why and what it was in such a revolting fashion. Hermione could picture the newspaper article yesterday that went over all the details perfectly in her mind.

**Higher Conception Matrimony Law**

_The Ministry of Magic has decreeded a law for marriage of those between the ages of seventeen and forty as a way to help the birth rate come up, as well as lower the shockingly rising amount of squibs (particularly coming from the Pure-Blooded families), to help the current generation by matchmaking them through old magic means._

_The actual matchmaking is a complicated process, but from what has been leaked from the Ministry of Magic, it is clearly thorough. It finds those that have compatible personalities, are physically attracted to each other, and checks many other things to assure that the marriage is a good fit._

_There is currently no way to switch marriages if it does not work out. Though the Ministry of Magic has surely thought of this possibility (one would think anyways)._

_The contents of the law passed are below and it is_ _strongly_ _suggested that everyone fitting the age requirement reads it (as to not get a nasty shock later)._

**To Uphold This law**

_We, the Ministry of Magic, assure you that this law is needed, and to go against it is to spend a year in Azkaban. If you try to run from the law, your stay will be extended to two years. If you try to stop another person's marriage from happening it will be three years._

_**1\. Fertility Potions and Spells** _ _are_ _encouraged_ _, but not_ _required_ _._

 _**2\. Changing a Match** _ _will_ _not_ _be possible. Due to the process used for matchmaking we can assure you that there are no errors in your match._

 _**3\. This Law is Only for Those Not Currently Married.** _ _If you marry/get engaged before tomorrow, your letter will not be sent. If you are already married this law does not apply to you_ _unless_ _you get a divorce._

 _**4\. Trying to Stop Births** _ _at any time during which this marriage law is upheld is_ _punishable_ _by a fifty galleon fine and up to a year in Azakaban. If you use muggle pills or anything else to aid in this act, the fine is pushed up to eighty galleons._

 _**5\. If You Are Not Capable of Having Children,** _ _this law does not apply to you. If you find this out after the marriage you will be divorced as long as your partner is still capable and a new match will be set up for them, otherwise that decision lies in your hands._

**To Fulfill The Requirements Of This Law,**

_You must,_

_**1\. Conceive a Child** _ _within the first three years. If you are having trouble it is advised that you go to the hospital and have some reproduction tests run._

 _**2\. Have a Bi-Monthly Check-Up** _ _at the Hospital to check if you or your partner is pregnant._

 _**3\. Find Time to Spend** _ _with your husband/wife around your schedule. Specifically seventy two hours a week. Some special circumstances may exist for this. If you have problems with this requirement due to work or school, please talk to a Supervisor within the Department of Marriages, Births, and Deaths so we are informed of your situation and can make the appropriate changes for your personal record._

 _**4\. On the Day of the Marriage,** _ _fulfill the act by consummating the marriage._

 _**5\. Attempt** _ _to get pregnant at least once a week._

 _**6\. Make Marriage Arrangements** _ _and select a date within the week you get your letter._

 _**7\. Be Married** _ _within four months._

_Under this law it will be punishable by death or a sentence to Azkaban depending on severity if you harm your child in anyway._

It was outrageous. Even if the Ministry was also attempting to keep the act of this ridiculous law to a healthy state. That had been obvious to her when she saw number three of the requirements. To make sure the newlyweds actually spent time around each other and got time to know each other if they didn't already. The addition at the end was another of these examples, trying to make sure the children grew up in a favorable environment. At least the Ministry was trying to do something right.

She very much wished that she was engaged right now but she refused to force a friend into a marriage of convenience. Talk of the law had started a month ago when it was being made and debated over. Now that it was passed she could just wish that this process of matchmaking worked in her favor. If it was as good as the papers and Ministry said, she wouldn't have a problem with it.

Besides not liking that she had to get married at such a young age, consummating the marriage was one of the requirements she was iffy about. It would seem much more favorable if the Ministry let the couples decide when to do the act. Even if they wanted the children and the population of the wizarding world to go up, that seemed to take it a bit far.

Well, that's what she first thought, until she saw number five anyways. They were actually making it a requirement to shag each week as a minimum. That last part may not have been said but it was heavily implied.

Just thinking about it made her stomach twist. That the Ministry would go so far for a stupid little law.

Her nose twitched in distaste as she stuffed a cheese and herb bagel into her mouth that she had somehow managed to fill with a strawberry cream filling, even in her half-focused state.

The sound of a bag being dragged from the table made her raise her eyes to look at her friends around her curiously. "Better eat that while getting to class or you'll be late." Ron said before sticking a roll in his mouth.

Late? Her? No way. She got up, taking a bite of the bagel as she swung her school bag over a shoulder and quickly followed Ron and Harry out of the Great Hall and to their first class, Potions.

It was hard to concentrate with the fact that her letter had still not yet arrived. She glanced towards Blaise Zabini, watching him until he noticed her looking and simply mouthed at him, 'Did you get your letter yet?' He was in the same boat as her, having turned seventeen early in the school year. When he just shook his head in response - and she was damned grateful he had actually responded to her inquiry rather than ignoring her - she sighed and looked back to the front of the room.

She felt like twiddling her fingers the rest of the day as class after class went by. During lunch, no owl had come for her though she noticed a Hufflepuff get a single letter.

Hermione ended up asking her Head of House, McGonagall what the delay was shortly after class.

"Oh," she said lightly while looking down at her student with clear sympathy. "There was a slight mix up with the owls earlier this morning. Then the Ministry was apparently being slightly behind with about twenty five percent of the letters. It's a lot of letters to send so this isn't too much of a surprise really. It'll still get here by today. I would recommend keeping your dorm room window open, in case the owl is late in arriving."

Hermione said a quick thank you for the information before leaving to the next class that had her bouncing on her toes, eager to see this letter and get it over with. Good or bad - the anticipation was killing her. She would much rather know what her future held then have it shrouded in mystery.

When it still hadn't come by dinner she was getting antsy. Glancing around, she saw three owls come in and land to drop off letters in front of at least a dozen seven year students. She watched as their reactions ranged from a look of shock, a blush of embarrassment, blood draining from the face as one paled, even a rather happy squeal came from a table. Hermione sighed once more before glancing back towards her friends, hoping her own reaction was one of the more favorable ones.

She got up from the table early, rather wanting to wait in her room for the inevitable letter. After summoning a warm container to put some spaghetti and meatballs in she made her way back to the Gryffindor tower.

Sitting up in her room with the window open wide, letting in a cold draft of air, she ate the rest of her dinner. The sound of the door opening and closing didn't escape her and she glanced over to see Ginny standing there.

"Padma wanted to know if it was okay if her and the others came in." Ginny said slowly when she saw Hermione's frown. "Did it -"

"No. Not yet anyways." she paused before sighing. "They can come in." she said while knowing full well that they were likely to only go to sleep after her letter arrived and her spouse had been revealed. "You can stay too." Hermione added as Ginny opened the door to call down to Hermione's dorm mates to come up. She might need her friend here if it ended up being someone she didn't care for. Or if it was someone she didn't know in the Wizarding World. She had heard a seventh year whispering about how she had been paired with a twenty something wizard while in the library, conveniently hidden by a stack of books.

Once the girls had all piled in Ginny came over and sat on her bed. "Do you have any guesses?"

"No." she replied glancing back over to the window as she licked some sauce off from her finger before closing the now empty container and setting it aside on top of the drawer. "Could be an-" she stopped mid-sentence when she heard a flap of wings soon followed by an owl coming through the window awkwardly due to its wingspan. Flying across the room it let go of the letter it held to land right in Hermione's lap before it flew off once again. "-yone." she finished while staring at the letter embossed with the Ministry symbol in shock.

Now that it was in front of her, she hesitated. It was rather surprising, but, well... Her shock vanished in that instant and she quickly tore the letter open and raised it to her face to begin reading the customary greeting.

_Dear Hermione Jean Granger,_

_We, the Ministry of Magic, would like to inform you that as you are seventeen that you are eligible for the Higher Conception Matrimony Law. Due to you being in school you may need to speak with a Supervisor or other member of the Department of Marriages, Births, and Deaths due to the third requirement of the law. We suggest one of the following: Abtol, Cuthota, or Kanis. A Record has been prepared for you at Saint Mungo's Hospital, please set a date for a check up within the week of your marriage. Your nurse will be Mrs. Vandis so please keep health inquires to her only. We suggest if you want to be married in a specific place to make reservations as early as possible. Please keep all this in mind and if you have not read the law familiarize yourself with it so the date falls within the required time._

_Congratulations on turning seventeen. We have used old magical means to come up with your match and we hope you approve of your future husband. Please remember that we check for all ways possible that the two of you are compatible to lower the chance of any problems coming up in your marriage. If you do have problems though please contact a Counsellor to work it out as at this moment you may not divorce._

_We are happy to inform you that our system had paired you with none other than Bartemius Nyle Crouch Junior._

Quite honestly, her first thought was, that's Barty's middle name? It was only after that second that she felt panic invade her bones. She was sure her eyes had gone comically wide when she read the name at the end. Surely the system set up by the Ministry hadn't paired her up with this... this _maniac_?

Him and her being compatible?

A laugh escaped her throat and she could feel the stares on her at the nervous sound that filled the silent air around her.

They had to be kidding. To be joking. Yes! This was all just a big joke. W-why would they be so cruel to joke about this though? No. No.

She didn't say the words out loud. Rather she shook her head repeatedly as if that would help clear the current name and put someone else on there instead. Someone that wasn't a bloody Death Eater. She knew he wasn't innocent. They wanted her to marry the man that almost killed Harry! A mistake - it had to be a mistake. She just needed to-to -

Hermione lunged forward to grab a piece of parchment and quill from a desk and started hastily writing on it only to stop after that damn comma, before she even started with her outrageous cry of 'Never!' She rolled it up into a ball and threw it across the room, now seeing the shocked faces everyone was currently giving her at this reaction. For a moment she was silent then simply stated,

"I'm going to the Ministry."

"What? Your match can't be that bad." Ginny said quickly while trying to peer over her shoulder at the letter still in her left hand that she had a death grip on.

She folded the paper quickly, multiple times so the young Weasley wouldn't see it. "You don't want to know who." she assured her friend before she was up and off the bed, sticking her feet back into her shoes without bothering to put on socks first. Opening the door, she descended down the stairs quickly.

Entering the common room she saw a few Gryffindors were still up. Some fourth years were in a corner concocting a potion of some kind. If she bothered to think more about it she could be sure it had something to do with their shop. A first year was at a desk scribbling frantically away at a roll of parchment, obviously having waited till the last day to start on their homework. Harry and Ron were near the small fireplace talking about what sounded like Quidditch.

She walked past the five of them for the door. It swung open before she even got there and she halted in her tracks when she saw who it was - Professor McGonagall. The professor glanced down at her as Hermione was standing in the way of entering the commons. "Where do you think you are going in such a hurry?"

"The Ministry." Hermione snapped with such distaste and anger that the whole room seemed to freeze for a moment. The sound of a quill on paper had stopped, her friends speaking quietly subsided. The only sound was the bubbling from the cauldron in the corner.

"It's late. It would not be very likely that someone will still be up working there at this hour. What could you possibly have -" McGonagall's eyes falling on the crumpled letter in her hand made her stop speaking for a second as an understanding went into her eyes. "I'm sure out of all the students here you know what the law says, Miss Granger. There are no changes to whatever match you have got."

"They made a mistake." Hermione said swiftly. "I need to clear this up as quickly as possible."

McGonagall looked as if she was going to reprimand her but then sighed. "If it's really a mistake then you can use the fireplace in my quarters to get there." Turning the woman started toward a door in the wall, where the girl dormitories would lie beyond upstairs.

"Who did you get Hermione?"

There was a slight twitch in her eye when Ron spoke. "I don't have the time right now, Ronald." She walked after the Professor and into the quarters, not sparing so much of a glance around the room. Once her eyes found the fireplace she was walking even faster towards it, anger coiling in the pit of her stomach at the ridiculousness of this situation.

"Try not to be too long, Hermione." McGonagall said, just as she grabbed a handful of floo powder at the side of the mantle before stepping inside.

Turning around she simply shouted, "Ministry of Magic!", not bothering to answer as she was enveloped in green flames.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated: 6/2/2016
> 
> -.- corrected phrasing of sentences mostly, that otherwise made no sense otherwise. No idea how I missed them before. Fixed all the '-' in this chapter as well, so they should be used correctly in their circumstances now.
> 
> If anyone is interested in beta-reading what's published to fix grammar, random misspellings and the like; PM me on ff.net. AO3 currently doesn't have a private messaging system.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone reading this and subscribers!

For a few seconds all she could see was wisps of green and felt the sensation of spinning around and around. The sparks died down as she arrived at the Ministry the flames disapearing around her to reveal the long hall that led to the buildings.

Hermione barely looked around as she stepped out, fingers still clutching the crumpled letter. It was quite at this time of day, or rather night. Few people were still walking around instead of the large crowd she had heard some classmates talk about before when they had visited. Commenting that to be there was completely overwhelming the first time.

She didn't feel any of that right now though. Just the anger pulsing deep in her veins. She had started a mantra in her head as she walked past the tall stone fountain that she didn't care to look at, much less at the details. _It's a mistake. It's a mistake! It's a bloody mistake!_

When she entered the building she walked immedietly for the desk infront of her where a wizard lounged reading the latest copy of the Daily Prophet, or doing crosswords if the quil in his hand was any clue. "Excuse me." She said trying to keep the fire out of her voice and sound more buisness-like. "I need to see someone in the Department of Marriages, Births, and Deaths right away."

The man looked up, slightly startled. "I'll have to check if anyone is in right now and available." he started turning toward a stack of parchment on a tilted slab to his right before glancing toward her. "Who did the Ministry suggest you talk with?"

Hermione snapped open her letter again and glanced down at it before looking back up. "An Abtol, Cuthota, or Kanis." she said quickly before just folding the parchment once before resuming her death grip on it.

A few seconds passed before the man at the desk turned back to her. "Abtol and Cuthota are in, but Abtol is currently busy and Cuthota is suppose to be getting off in just a few minutes."

That was just her damn luck. "Contact Cuthota then and tell him I'm coming to his office and give me the directions." she said not having any intention of leaving until she had talked to someone. Besides, he had just said that person wasn't busy, just about to leave. Which meant they had the time and could deal with her even if it was overtime.

"I can't. He's getting off soon-"

"So he'll stay a little late. I need to talk to someone right _now_."

The man sighed. "As I just said. I can not make him stay here overtime. He already came in early because of another person I'm not going to preassure him into staying later than needed."

"This is needed!" Hermione snapped so fiercly she thought the guy jumped slightly when she spoke.

Flattening a part of his robe that got bunched up he frowned at her. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave Miss."

"I'm not leaving until I've talked to someone about this!" she waved the folded letter in his face that had a inked copy of the Ministry insignia on the back of it.

"That law doesn't let you switch-"

"I know about the damn law! That's why I need to speak with someone to get this cleared up!"

He flinched as her screaming started again. "I would appreciate it if you didn't yell. Please leave and come back tomorrow early in the morning and if there's a legitamate problem we can get it cleared th-"

"Is there a problem here?"

Her blood ran ice cold at the voice. All proud and stuck up-like. She could remember it as distinctly as the first time she heard it back in her second year. It could only belong to one person. Lucius Malfoy. She was about to whirl on him when the front desk representitive spoke up, "This Miss refuses to leave without seeing Supervisor Cuthota who is suppose to be getting off right about now."

"If you were to send a message that he has one last visitor I could take her to his office."

The man looked about ready to protest but then sighed in indignation. "I'll send a message right away. I shouldn't have to tell you to get there quickly incase it doesn't arrive before yourselves." turning back to his crossword Hermione got the distinct feeling like he had just let Malfoy take her off his hands rather than deal with him herself.

Look at the bright side, you're getting to go see this Cuthota about this horrendous match. Then on the bad side, you're going to be escorted there by none other than Lucius Malfoy.

Something cold and metallic brushed her shoulder and she turned quickly to look at Malfoy. "Follow me." he said before removing the top of his cane from her shoulder and turning to go deeper into the building. Begrudgingly she followed after him, glaring at his back the whole way, twisting through the hallways till coming to a stop at a door. "Here's your stop, mudblood."

Hermione's eye twitched at the insult. "I can see where your son gets his manners." she retorted in retaliation then opened the door to see an office and walked inside just to get away from the small-minded pure-blood slamming the door behind her. The sound jarred the person searching among a rack of files in the office for just a moment, and then he was going back to whatever it was he was doing.

"Mr Cuthota?" she asked while drawing out a seat to sit in.

"Yes." The man replied still sifting through before he found what he was looking for a second later with a little "aha." sound. Closing the file drawer he turned to her and walked over to sit in the seat across from hers laying what he had found out on the table. "You must be Hermione Granger soon to be Crouch I believe it was. I just got a notice that you would be coming in. These are the papers and a magical copy of the record at the hospital though it won't have anything in it right now."

She was stunned for a moment. Crouch. _Hermione Crouch?_ Merlin she wished people would never associate her with that person. Either person. His father was a bit of an idiot and had broken the law himself. The son was just a complete bloody psychopath. For her to be given that last name, to be reffered to as such already... She very much did not like it. "Right." she said lifting her letter up to set on the table. "I needed to talk to you about that." She paused for a moment but when he just looked at her patiently she continued, "I think there's been a mistake." She opened the letter to simply point at the name Bartemius. "We're definetly not compatible. I don't know if you read the Daily Prophet or not but he tried to kill Harry, my friend and almost succeeded. There's no way I'm marrying him. Much less procreating." A shiver ran through her at the idea and she was sure her face twisted into an expression of absolute disgust.

"When the result came from the matchmaking ritual it was figured that might be a problem with you-"

"Figured!" she screamed before quickly reining herself in at the surprised look on his face from the sudden uncivil reaction. "So what, you already have a solution? Like a back-up to-be-husband." she didn't bother to hide what outcome she wanted.

"Can't do that." Those words tempted her to raise her hands and tear her hair out. Who the hell added that to the law! It was completely ridiculous! "Our 'solution' as you call it is very simple. You'll be getting a marriage counselor to help with any bumps in the relationship."

She felt her jaw drop and quickly closed it. "What?"

"Well it hasn't been decided who in this Department will have the job yet as it's still being looked over but whoever it is will help with anything that comes up. Of course it'll be up to you to schedule any meetings and go to them so whatever it is can be worked out." There was a slight pause in words as he reached for the file and drew a paper out to put on the table. She didn't have to look down at it to know what it was. "If you haven't read the law already you should. There's no mistake with the match. Not with anyones. You can't change it. Since you're here now why don't we get a date for the marriage set up so it's already on file?" He set his hands on the desk in a rather diplomatic way.

Hermione seethed for a few seconds, every cell in her being still flowing with anger; then she blinked. "The last possible day." At least then she could put it off for four months while thinking of a way out of this. Cuthota looked slightly surprised at that. "Maybe I'll... get used to the idea by then." she was lying, of course. If she was certain of anything it was this: she would never get used to the idea of being married to Bartemius.

"That could be possible." he said slowly. "But why don't we wait another minute until your husband gets here since it's a decision the two of you should make together? As a way to start out on the right foot and have atleast some contact with eachother."

She could feel her jaw drop once again. "That psyc-he's on his way _here_? _Now_?" she tried to hide the fact of calling her future husband a psycho but Cuthota seemed to have caught that anyway.

He sighed in such a dramatic way she had to wonder if it was rehearsed. "He's not a pyscho. The tests were conclusive that he wasn't guilty for any of those crimes. It was simply unfortunate that he was locked up in Azkaban for the last few years, again."

"He helped in the torture of the Longbottoms. Or did you forget?" Hermione scowled and shot up from her chair glancing toward the door, checking that no one had entered the room silently while she was speaking. Seeing no one she turned back to Cuthota with a frown. "I'm not marrying him." After a moments pause she grabbed the paper he had sat down infront of her, slamming it back down onto the table to face him and pointing at the Uphold clause number five a second later, "'If you are not capable of having children this law does not apply to you.' That man whether guilty or somehow innocent in this twisted world of the Ministry has still dabbled in the dark arts. There is no bloody way he is still able to have children after messing with that magic."

"Bartemius was checked upon being cleared of his crimes and leaving Azkaban as he fell within the age group for the law. It would have been irresponsible of us to not have him tested and still included in the ritual."

She bit at her lip. How was it that she was being blocked at every possible way to get out of this marriage? Hermione blinked then grinned down at him, laying her hands on the desk. "I haven't been checked. How do you know if _I_ can concieve or not?"

This was the first time she saw Cuthota look, what was the correct word? Surprised? His face didn't really change enough for her to tell accurately. "Well, it's best to run the test earlier than later." His face had dropped back into buisness style as he picked up another paper from the files. "What day would you like to go in and have that checked? Can't be the last, since that's when you want the wedding. I would suggest a week before atleast."

She didn't respond at first. Her mind wandering back to what she had heard in school, back at the library, while hidden behind a stack of books. "How old is Barty?"

"Pardon?" He looked rather confused at the change in subject.

"A school mate said that their uh, husband was in his twenties. She was a seventh year." Hermione explained.

"Oh, yes. Some couples do have age gaps. Bartemius is thirty four." Her eyes widened. "There are plenty of couples that were situated with similar age gaps, smaller, some even larger. It's not unusual." Damn. He must have known what she was going to ask since he answered the question without her having to. "Now, as I was saying before about that conception check up. You said you wanted the wedding on the last day possible, right?" Hermione just nodded slowly, still in shock. She grabbed for the edge of the chair and sat herself slowly back down, mind spinning. She was getting married to a person seventeen years her senior? Give or take a few months that is. She could really only think of one thing with that information running through her mind.

Her parents were going to flip out.

"Miss Granger?"

She blinked and shook her head quickly, refocusing on Cuthota. "Y-yes? I mean, what?"

"Check up. At Saint Mugos Hospital. What day did you want it?"

Right. That. When did she want to be checked if she could bear children or not? "Oh. Umm-"

"What's this about a check up at the hospital?"

"Conception thing. Contra-one. Hopefully." She blinked a moment later after the words left her mouth. That hadn't been Cuthota speaking. "Who?" she questioned while turning in her chair to glance up at the person who had evidently just come through the door. Hermione had to tilt her head back a bit to see the face of the man infront of her but she immediately recognized it from the Daily Prophet. "Bloody hell!" she shouted, scrambling back in the chair-trying to anyways. It didn't really work, being in a chair and all. It clattered to the floor, with her in it. She yelped in surprise as she fell-but didn't hit the floor.

There were fingers wrapped around her upper arm. Glancing back up rather than at the ground she straightened herself to a standing position before tugging her arm from Barty's grip. "Don't touch me." she snapped at him, glaring outright.

"Well it would seem we are off to a rocky start."

She swung her head around so fast it made a _whoosh_ sound. "You think this is _funny_?"

"On the contrary I'm rather tired and would like to get to my bed sometime tonight. So if you two could just sit down, calmly, and we can talk the rest of your plans out." Hermione scowled, glaring at the Supervisor as she wordlessly accioed the chair up to its original spot and sat back down. She did her best to ignore the chair scraping to her right signaling that her 'husband to-be' had sat down. "Okay then. Thank you for joining us Bartemius." Cuthota gave a nod in his direction causing Hermione's eye to twitch. She would much rather he bugger off. "So, about that day."

"Tomorrow." Barty said before she could even speak.

She turned to look at him, glaring openly. "What?"

He glanced to her in turn. "The earlier we figure out if you can concieve the better right? Or else we're just wasting Ministry time." She frowned at those words, a nagging in the back of her mind that there was an underlying in them. "If it's fine with you that is."

With a huff she turned away from him. "Whatever."

"So that's set then?" Cuthota asked, exchanging a glance with each of them. Hermione nodded in the affirmative and watched silently as he wrote on the piece of paper in front of him, filling out seperate parts of the sheet before turning it towards her. She grabbed the quil from him before he even spoke and signed her name down before giving it back to him.

"We're done here then. Right?" Hermione asked, glaring at each of the two before settling back on Cuthota as she would rather not look at Barty. She hoped all she had to do now was get back into the Gryfindor Tower, find a spell of some sort to make her appear anti-baby, go to the check up and then be done with this stupidity.

"Not yet. If your check up turns out to be negative it won't matter, but if positive then you'll still need a day for the marriage-"

"We already talked about this." Hermione snapped. "I told you, 'the last possible day', or did you miss that somehow?"

Cuthota's expression held the barest skeleton of a frown. "Yes. We-" he pointed a finger between him and her, "talked. As I told you before though, I need to speak with both of you about the marriage so you can both agree on the selected date. Being able to make a decision together is a part of marriage, and besides that, it would be unfair if a date was selected without the others knowledge of when. Part of my job here is making sure you both agree to it so we here at the Ministry have it on record. There's going to be a lot of marriages within the next four months and we need to keep track of them all and make sure everyone shows up. Now a person can't show up if they don't know what the day is, so this is why we're doing this." A slight pause as he took a breath. "If you two would like a moment to discuss now is the time. Unless you want to come in another time but it'll probably be really busy tomorrow and most of the following week. I don't know if I would have time to see you two again."

Hermione glanced to Barty. "I stand by my decision."

A smile creeped its way across his rugged features. "Now that's not much of a discussion if you've already made the decision ahead of time, Hermione."

"Don't call me that." she snapped.

"Then what should I call you?" he inquired looking rather serious about the matter.

"Nothing. We're not aquantinces. Not friends. Most definitely not husband and wife. So, you will call me nothing."

"Nothing." he repeated with a smile that irked her. "Nice name."

She rolled her eyes. "Nothing as in as far as you are concerned we never met in the first place."

"So we're starting out on a clean slate?"

"Definitely not."

"Miss Granger it is then." Her nose twitched at the reminder of when he was the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher back in her fourth year. Barty had turned to look back at Cuthota though. "About that, 'last possible day' date," She scowled openly at him. Weren't they suppose to be talking about it? "that's not going to work for me."

Hermione snapped out from her glaring contest with the side of his head. "Why not? What could possibly be wrong with it? Does it conflict with your Death Eater schedule?" That had to be it.

"No." he said, having turned to face her again as he spoke. "If you read the Daily Prophet, Miss Granger, you would know that I've been cleared of any and all crimes and therefore am not a Death Eater. So there's no way it could conflict with a nonexistent schedule of mine. By putting my marriage to the last possible day it would make it seem as if I was trying to get out of this and even though my name is cleared a lot of people still think I'm a Death Eater, like you for instance-"

"I wonder why." Hermione hissed under her breath.

"-and even people in the Ministry itself. Therefore it would be better for me to get married sooner. Say, in two months?"

"Three."

"Days?"

"Months." she snapped irritably.

"You don't like days?"

"I don't like you."

"And why is that?"

"You tried to kill Harry!"

"Again you're missing the-"

"I don't care what the Daily Prophet says. It's a load of codswallop! And if you think saying I was 'under the influence' is going to get you anywhere with me then that bloody ritual was most definitely not on your side."

"Two."

"What?"

"One."

"I don't compromise with Death Eaters."

"Not."

"I don't bloody care."

"So one would be fine."

"No it would not!"

"You just said you didn't bloody care."

"Not for that! I stick by three. Months!"

"Two and a half."

"Is this a game to you?'

"Yes. A quarter."

"No."

"Half a quarter."

"I refuse your proposition of two weeks."

"One."

"One what?"

"Anything."

"Year."

"That's cheating Hermione Jean Granger."

"How the hell do you know my full name?"

"Invintation."

"I don't recall this being a party."

"What about a game?"

"This isn't a game. This is my life. Now quit it."

"This is my life too."

"Something tells me it doesn't matter as much to you."

"What would that be?"

"My sixth sense."

"Six days?"

"No! Three. I mean-"

"Days."

"Stop it!"

"Thirty."

"Shut up!"

"Twenty nine."

"Bugger off!"

"Eighteen."

"Seventeen!'

"Six!"

"Fiv-Hey!"

"Tetrad."

"What does Tetris have to do with this?'

"Ternion."

"This isn't The Grid."

"It's not?"

"No!"

"What if I dual?"

"You're giving me a bloody headache!"

"I'm not the one screaming at the tops of my lungs."

"Well this must be just dandy for you then!"

"It is. Want a solitary pill?"

"What color is it?"

"Blue."

"Whatever."

"Okay."

"Good."

"So we got that all sorted out now?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to go back on your word?"

"No-what?"

"You heard her Cuthota."

"Finally, both of you sign here." The Supervisor said sounding tired.

"What?" Hermione repeated as she turned to the desk that Barty was now facing where he was signing his name on a piece of parchment. "We didn't come to an agreement." She said as the Ministry Supervisor drew the paper toward her once Barty was done, pointing at the line she was to sign with a quil. Frowning she took the quil and looked down at the paper. Her eyes scanned over the formal parts to where the date had appeared. For a moment she was rendered speechless. "T-tomorrow?"

"Please sign the paper so we can get this over with, and remember, it's only if your fertility test is conclusive." Oh yes, let's wish like crazy that I'm not capable of having children. Why did she ever agree to have that test done tomorrow? She could feel the quil being pressed into her hand that was moved to hover over the line. "Miss Granger?"

She bit at her lip for a moment before glancing up at Cuthota with a smile. "I won't do it. Throw me in Azkaban." At his raised brow she continued, "That's part of your law isn't it? I'm going against your law. So just thrown me in Azkaban already."

The only response she got was him shaking his head at her. "That won't be necessary." She blinked. So she didn't have to go to Azkaban? They would let her just walk out the door? "You are to sign the paper, so please just sign it."

Her smile slowly slipped from her face. The air in the room suddenly felt cold around her. As if it had gone from fall to the middle of winter in the blink of an eye. An alarm was starting up in the back of her mind, a distant ring. "What do you mean sign it? I don't have to. It's not required. It says right there," she jabbed at the parchment containing the written law. "That if I go against the law that I would be thrown in Azkaban for a year. If I were to try and run I would get two years, and if someone were to try and stop-this- _oh_." It didn't apply to her. She could see that in Cuthota's eyes now. Hermione was also suddenly very aware that she was alone in the Ministry with these two people. "I have a wand." she said slowly, while reaching for it.

Something poked her in the side of her neck causing her eyes to widen further and dart over to glance at Barty who held the wand to her throat. "We all have wands Miss Granger. That includes Lucius outside the door. Now, if you would." Cuthota said while tilting his open palm at the paper infront of her.

Her eyes darted from Barty to Cuthota, towards the door, back to the Supervisor, then down at the parchment infront of her. She was surrounded then. Opening her mouth she spoke slowly, "I won't-" the wand poked further against her throat and she hesitated, "sign it." There was a sort of sharp pain along her neck, quick and only there for a second. Even so she could feel a trickle of blood running from the tip of where the wand lay against her skin, traveling down to the crevice of her collar bone. "You can't force me." Her heart started to pound harder as she stared at the paper that was suppose to seal her fate.

A breath coasted along her face as she could sense Barty leaning over, closer until his lips brushed against her ear when he spoke, "I can't?" There was a slight pause. "Tell me, Hermione. Who knows that you're here?" She just mouthed the word, _eleven_ suddenly not able to get her mouth to work properly. "Who else saw the letter besides you?" _No one._ "Then who, pray tell, knows why you are here?" _No._ "Is your hand broken?" She didn't answer. "I asked you a question." _Not yet._ "Would you like to know what it feels like to have your hand broken?"

"Not particularly."

Her head snapped to the side as the harsh sound filled the air following the sting on her cheek. "This isn't the time to be a smart ass, Hermione."

She blinked slowly, raising a hand to touch her cheek, momentarily replicating the curve at which she had been hit. "Don't." Her voice sounded small even to her own ears.

Her hand was tugged back down from her face as fingers wrapped around her wrist to slam it against the arm of the chair. Her wrist stung in response. It moved away a moment later and she felt those same fingers holding her chin, tugging it to the side so she had to look into his dark brown eyes. "Don't what?"

"Don't call me that."

There was a sigh and he let go of her chin. Her head dropped to look down at the parchment again, to see her hand still poised over the line. It was as if his hand had been holding her head up. "Let's try this again. Shall we?" She bit at her lip when she felt the blood start to overflow from the shallow cusp of her neck and start down again. The wand pressed harder against her throat and she flinched when it hit the part where the spell had made the cut. "Put your name on the line. It's very simple." She didn't move. "Do I need remind you that no one is coming here? If someone had even reached the reception area we would have gotten a letter."

Hermione just closed her eyes. "You won't kill me."

"Whoever said anything about killing?" The wand tip was dragged across her skin, that short sharp pain returned. It curved against her skin, forming a crescent, blood flowing after it. For a long moment afterwards it was silent. She could just feel the blood running over her skin, sense his prescence next to her, hear his soft controlled breathing at her ear. Fingers curled back over her hand, the one that held the quil. It started the downward stroke and her hand followed the familiar movements afterward. No more guidance needed. "There you go." A hand stroked a strand of hair from her face.

Opening her eyes slowly she looked down at the page, the quil falling from her hands as she read it.

_Hermione Granger and Bartemius Crouch, to be married on the twenty fifth of September, nineteen ninety six._

"Stupefy." A red light bloomed along the right side of her face

Her vision went black.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what to put here... ummm Good morning/afternoon/evening! Enjoy the latest chapter my duckies! (i don't know why... *goes off to corner*)

There was a pecking coming from the window. The owl fluttering outside of it insistent on being let in. Thankfully the wizard it was choosing to wake up was a light sleeper. Albus Dumbledore got up from the bed and walked over to unlatch the window and let the bird of prey in to land on the writing desk, promptly dropping a letter before taking back off through the window. Apparently it wasn't going to wait around for a reply so it must be a notice of some sort.

Closing the window again he walked over and sat down in the chair before looking down to see the usual Ministry seal on the letter. He opened it gingerly, picking up his glasses afterward so they could perch on his nose as he looked down to read what he guessed to be important if the Ministry had sent an owl to wake him up in the morning before even the students would be up.

_Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore,_

_We would like to inform you that one of your students, Hermione Granger, will not be able to arrive to classes today. As you are probably aware the Higher Conception Matrimony Law was passed just yesterday and she came in just last night to discuss plans with us. As it was late we had to push most of it to the next day and we hope to have everything done as soon as possible so she can return to classes._

_We apologize for any inconvience this may cause._

_Sincerely, Supervisor Cuthota of the Department of Marriages, Births, and Deaths_

**/ / /**

_"Hermione."_

She jumped at the word. At her name. Hadn't she told him to not call her that? Multiple times even. She went to part her lips and found she couldn't. Her fingers twitched, flying up to check they were still there. Finding that he hadn't used her own wand to mutilate her lips as well after doing so to her neck she let out a sigh of relief.

There was a nudge at her shoulder.

Whirling she only saw darkness and backed up slowly, staring around at the suddenly dark room. There was a soft laugh and she took another step back feeling an unpleasant shiver run down her spine. Where was he?

A light preassure at the back of her neck was her answer. She made a small sound in her throat feeling the blood running down, directly over her spine.

Her shoulder was shaken harder and she gasped aloud. Surprised to hear her own voice, more-or-less anyways, she opened her eyes to be met by blindingly bright light. "Uh." she brought a hand up to block the light, blinking as she adjusted to it.

"Hermione Granger?"

She glanced towards where the feminine voice came from, lowering her hand to see a woman standing infront of her. Strawberry locks curled around a pale face with a pair of green eyes looking down at her, a white witch's hat sat on the top of her head. "Umm, yes?" She said slowly her head still throbbing as if she had run into a wall.

"You looked like you were having a nightmare. I'm Mrs. Vandis, the nurse the Ministry assigned to you. I got a letter to come in early to run your test as you wanted it done today." Today? Wait. Tomorrow. Tomorrow was today. When did that happen? "Don't worry it won't take too long, just a few spells. You came in with a rather nasty looking injury but I stopped the bleeding, the scar is still there though. I couldn't get it to go away, seemed like dark magic but if I'm correct in thinking that it was the Unguis Punctura spell then it should fade away by itself. It just can't be poofed away with magic unfortunately. Not very deadly, just annoying in that aspect."

Hermione blinked up at her as she slowly sat up and swung her legs off the hospital bed. "Scar?" She raised her hand up to touch at the right side of her neck and found a bandage pressed to it.

"Yes. I would advise against touching it-" she moved her hand away quickly, "so that it can heal." Mrs Vandis finished in a slower tone of voice. "Are you okay?"

Hermione glanced around the room. It was stark white, both magical and muggle healing books stacked in a shelf running along the outer wall. "Yes. I think so." She bit at her lip. "This is the Saint Mugos Hospital, right?" she asked slowly recalling that the wand that had made whatever sort of scar on her neck had been her own. Quickly she checked her robes feeling a surge of panic run through her. It wasn't there. Last she remembered it had been in Barty's hands. He still had it then.

"Okay. So just follow me to the room and I'll run the tests and you can go and get ready for that wedding I heard you were having today."

Her blood froze over. Wedding. Today. Tomorrow was today. Right. Which... no. Wait a second Hermione. Just calm down, she told herself. Think this through. Fighting to keep her voice under control she turned to look at the nurse, Mrs. Vandis. "How did I get here?" she asked, it being the most prominent question in her mind.

The woman was currently writing something on a clipboard, manually. She must be muggleborn. "Oh, your husband or rather, husband-to-be, Barty came by and dropped you off along with a copy of the paper that held the day you had wanted to do the test on for our personal records." Okay, maybe she wasn't muggleborn. Hermione shifted on the bed, slipping off it to touch the floor without a sound. Was this woman a Death Eater as well? Like the Supervisor back at the Ministry? What had been his name? Something Cuthota. She didn't think he had actually every properly introduced himself. "Ready?' The woman finally looked up and over at her.

She wasn't entirely sure. It was such a simple question but... she could always wish she figured, that she was secretly barren or something of the sort. Taking in a breath she nodded, "Yes. I'm ready." Get the test done, then get the bloody hell out of here. "Is..." she started slowly, unsure at first, but she had to know. "Is anyone else here?"

Mrs. Vandis shook her head. "No, no one else is scheduled to be in for another half hour. I came in early since your test and marriage were set on the same day and I figured you would have things to do." The nurse smiled then, "It's an important day for you. I wouldn't want to keep you from it any longer than absolutely necessary. You only get married once, especially with this new law. It should be special."

Hermione had to force her lips to curl up into and a smile and give a little nod just before Mrs. Vandis turned back away and started walking down the hall. Her face crumpled the moment the nurse had turned away. The woman had sounded genuine and with the way she suddenly got all happy at the mention of marriage Hermione was positive that the woman herself wasn't a Death Eater. Not like Cuthota had been. She was also positive though that they weren't actually alone. After what happened at the Ministry she was sure she was under surveilance even right now. That Barty had dropped her off convinced her of this even further.

With a sigh she followed after the nurse into the hallway to another room where the tests were to be run. Her mind was still spinning from what Mrs. Vandis had said. Who she kept thinking was a muggleborn, though she was unsure why Death Eaters would let a muggleborn be her nurse when they had obviously manipulated her situation so that Cuthota would be the Supervisor she went too.

Special.

That word kept floating through her mind.

Yes, her marriage should be special. It should be a day she looked forward too rather than dread. But this wasn't what she wanted. Infact at this point she was sure her ritual test had been messed with. She could distinctly remember her mother talk about her own wedding when she asked as a child. Words like magical had been used to describe the event to her seven year old mind. The fact that she wouldn't be getting that made her blood boil.

Not being able to choose her own husband. A ritual choosing for her. A ritual that had been tampered with by Death Eaters for some unknown reason. Those little facts twisted hard into her gut, her eyes felt as if they were burning up. Why out of everyone else was she picked for this? What did they even want? She knew though that she wouldn't be getting the answers anytime soon.

"Please sit down and lay back." Mrs. Vandis said, waving an arm at a table in the center of the room covered by the usual thin white cloth. Hermione hopped up onto the surface, scooting back until her feet were on the table then laying back to look up at the ceiling. Luckily there was no bright light right above her.

"So, how does this work?" She asked not even knowing what sort of spells or testing in general was used to check one's fertility.

"Well," There was a sound of a drawer being opened, "first I have to take a blood sample for your record of coming here, and making sure it's you." At Hermione's incredolous look the woman explained, "It's part of the law that the Ministry passed. The Prophet only detailed out what the public had to know about it, not about how everything was to be checked. Though I'm sure if you asked they would give you the full detailed document. The good news is we only have to take blood on your first arrival and you get a cookie out of the deal."

"Oh." That made sense. In case someone used the Polyjuice Potion as it only changed outward appearances and not the DNA of the person who drinks it.

"Okay, give me your arm." She watched as the woman turned her arm over, dabbing at it with a cotton ball leaving behind some wet substance on her skin. The needle was inserted shortly after and the syringe was filled with blood rather quickly as it was small. She doubted more than a few centimeters were being held within. Mrs. Vandis left her side for a moment with it, coming back shortly after. "Seeing as you are Hermione Granger we can begin. I'll need to ask you some questions first."

"Okay." Hermione said and waited for the first question to be asked.

"Do you have any allergies to medical prescriptions?"

"No."

"Have your ever had any chronic illnesses? Any medical surgery?"

"Not really. I had the flu consecutively for two years when I was five but otherwise I have a high metabolism and don't get sick very often. And, no."

There was the sounds of a pen scribbling across paper. "You used prescription medication for that?"

"Yes. Switched to healing spells after I turned eleven. Only ever had to use them three times."

"Alright. Ever been exposed to any harmful chemicals or toxins?"

"Not that I know of."

"Been involved in any sexual activities?"

Heat raised to her cheeks at the question even though she knew it was for a purely medical reason. "No." she murmured.

There were a few seconds where she could just hear the pen clearly scratching out some other questions from the sheet in the woman's hand. "Has your menstrual cycle been consecutive over the last year?"

"Yes."

"Seen any large blood clots?"

"No."

There was a click of the pen and then footsteps moving away again. Hermione turned her head to try and see what the woman was doing but couldn't as her back blocked what she was doing though she did hear papers being rustled around. "I just need to do a few spells now." Seeing the nurse turn around with wand in hand Hermione's eyes followed her movements. The older witch stopped next to her, pulling up the bottom of her shirt until the material was bunched up beneath her breasts then laid her wand on top of her skin. No words were spoken but a glow started at the tip of the wand and Mrs. Vandis moved it slowly back and forth. When Hermione glanced toward the woman's face she noticed her eyes were glowing the same color and she looked out of it, as if she was seeing something else infront of her.

The wand movements had continued for a minute and then it glowed a different color and was swept across her hips. Hermione was just thankful that her clothes hadn't been rearranged for this spell like the last one. "Hmmm,"

Upon hearing the woman suddenly make a sound she couldn't resist asking, "What?" With a slight flutter of panic in her stomach. She wasn't quite sure where it had come from though. She wanted this test to be negative. To get her out of this situation. To make these Death Eaters leave her alone. So that she didn't have to marry one.

"Nothing. Just some bruises. Have you been in any fights recently?"

Her heart thundered in her chest as she remembered what had happened in fifth year. "Yes. Last semester I got hit by some unidentified curse. That's probably where that came from." she paused for a second though. "What do you mean it's bruised?" she hadn't seen any marks on her skin for the last few months.

"The bone itself." There was a pause. "One moment. This may burn." She hardly had anytime to prepare when her right hip flared with heat as if on fire. Her eyes widened for a second when it increased but it was soon cooling back down. She sighed softly when a pulse of cold air seemed to flow through her bone there. "That should be fine now."

It grew quite again and stayed that way as the last few spells were cast and there were no more little comments inbetween them or any questioning sounds from the nurse. Hermione couldn't help but be impressed that all of them were cast without a sound from the woman. Must have been well versed in the spells so that they worked so well nonverbally.

"Done." Hermione glanced at her curiously wondering what conclusion she had come to. Hoping it was in her favor. "You're fine. Should have no problems with getting pregnate." Her heart sank and she could feel the blood draining from her face, making her appear pale. Mrs. Vandis wasn't looking her way though as she had turned away once again to go and open some container on the counter. When she turned back around Hermione had to force a smile on her face. "Here's a cookie." The way the words left her mouth, it was as if the woman believed that such a simple bakery good could get rid of all the problems in the world.

Well, she wouldn't mind borrowing that philosophy for a little while. Until her life completely went to hell that was. Hermione pushed herself up to a sitting position, straightening her shirt out before taking the cookie. "Thank you."

Mrs. Vandis smiled back. "Welcome. See you again in two months." With a nod at her Hermione began to slip from the table, intent on getting out of the building and maybe going into hiding. "Oh. I'll escort you to the waiting room."

For a moment she felt the urge to turn her down but then nodded. Being escorted by a fellow muggleborn was better than an arrogant pureblood. Going back down the hall she made a mental note of which hall led to different areas out of habit. She found herself also wondering where the Death Eaters were located. "The waiting room is right through that door. See you later Miss Granger."

Hermione gave an absent nod, watching the nurse walk back down the hall for a moment before turning around to open the door to the waiting room which would consequently lead outside. She stopped in her tracks though after entering the room staring at another woman sitting in a chair across from her. Hair starting out as dark brown that became wisps of white strands framing her face. Dark blue eyes looking back at Hermione as if studying her. Narcissa Malfoy pushed herself up from the leather furniture. "Hermione," she greeted. "I'll be taking you to the mansion to help you get prepared for the wedding."

Her minds spun at the words, the implication that everything had been throughly thought out so that she couldn't run away. She wondered half-heartedly if she could apparate within the hospital walls. It was a few more seconds before she found control of her voice again. "Narcissa," she replied after the Malfoy had said her own first name though after that she couldn't find anything to say for awhile. What was one suppose to say in this kind of situation? 'Thanks for escorting me to hell?' Taking in a slow breath trying to stop the wave of panic from rising in her she asked, "Who else is here?" There had to be others. No way could Narcissa have come by herself.

The woman smiled at this. "A few people."

Hermione closed her eyes for a moment. So she had been correct in her assumption. They were clearly not going to let her out of their sight until she was in a secure location. Not a public place. The mansion. The Malfoy's Mansion. She would be in one of their homes. "If I were to get away?" she asked.

"That won't happen."

"Right." she muttered, opening her eyes slowly to look over at the Malfoy. Taking in a breath Hermione walked forward until Narcissa grabbed her wrist and pulled her out the door. The moment they were off the Hospital premises there was a soft crack as Narcissa apparated them away.

Another crack echoed in her ears and for a moment Hermione's head swam from the after feeling of apparating. There was a tugging at her arm, leading her over somewhere before pushing her down to sit on a piece of furniture in the room. She tried to look around the room but a pair of finger wrapped around her chin and forced her gaze forward and Hermione found herself looking into Narcissa's eyes. "Not white." the woman murmured. "Darker maybe." She blinked as the Malfoy let go and walked away towards another section of the room and she could hear drawers opening again. What had that been about?

With her out of the way though she could know see that she was in a bedroom. One with dust layers of dust still on some of the furniture or a white cloth thrown over it. The only pieces that were free of dust was a black wood vanity pressed up on the far wall, twin silver snakes wrapping up each individual side of the mirror. The chair tucked in it; also black wood, a snake along the back of the chair, a white cushion. Turning her head she noticed a small set of drawers next to it was also clear of dust and when she looked towards Narcissa she could see her going through a large drawer that was also dust free. Pushing her palm against the couch she sat on she could feel the leather and could guess that the color was also black. That this room was a guest room and judging from the way there were still white cloths over the bed that this was just a temporary set up for her.

She found herself wondering as she sat there listening silently to the sounds of clothes being rustled around. Finally she voiced what had been nagging at the back of her mind ever since it all clicked together back at the Ministry. "Why?'

The rustling stopped momentarily. "Why as in, why you? Why this place? Or why now?"

"All of them."

There was a heavy sigh and then a simple, "I don't know." as her answer.

Hermione turned her gaze to look at the Malfoy, wondering how that was possible. "But you're a Death Eater."

The woman's lips pulled taut as her expression became even more neutral then before. "Lucius is the one who took the mark. The Dark Lord uses our place frequently for meetings, to plan things out, as I would imagine you would already know from the Order's own sources. I never took the mark. So I'm not a Death Eater." The rustling stopped. "Here it is." Turning around Hermione's eyes wend wide at the white dress Narcissa held in her hands.

Upon closer inspection as it was brought into the light she saw the fabric was actually both silver and ivory. A combination of lace with an english netting. It was hanging from Narcissa's fingers by the contour straps. The neckline dipping down to form a low V. The actual shape of the dress was skinny until it came towards the bottom down past the hip to spead out more. It was turned around and she could see the almost heart-shaped opening in the back, how the part of the dress around the upper half of it was partially see through. Being turned back she took notice of the floral design implemented into the material.

"Put it on."

"What?" Hermione tore her gaze from the dress to look at Narcissa. "What for?"

"Your wedding. I had the house elves go and get it yesterday." The woman paused as she looked at her. "It'll fit. Measurements were taken while you were... out." As in knocked out. Stupified into unconsciousness. "I've been asked to help you get ready for it." There was a long pause where they just stared at eachother for a moment. "I insisted that you wear one." Her voice had lowered but Hermione still heard her.

She hadn't expected that to come out of her mouth. She had expected for the dress to be throw at her, to be told to just throw it on before being marched to wherever the marriage was to take place. That it was all just to degrade her further. "Why?"

"Surely you know the Ministry will not be going back on their law anytime soon. This will be your only marriage-"

"To Barty." Hermione muttered, still not wanting to believe it even as everything was happening so quickly around her, at lightspeed.

Narcissa continued as if she hadn't said a thing, "-for as long as the law stays. Which no one knows when it will end. You should be able to dress up for today like any other woman-"

"Why I would I want to dress up for Barty!" Hermione exploded, jumping straight to her feet to glare at Narcissa. "I don't want to marry him! I'm seventeen! I shouldn't be getting married right now! I should be able to make the decision of who I'm married to, but instead the Ministry comes across this ritual to choose who you're with! One that was tampered with quite obviously! I don't know what you-the Death Eaters are trying to get out of this but I am not going to play these games! I-" Hermione struggled to take a breath, feeling all her frustration just bubbling over after having the time to brew for hours beforehand. "I should be able to enjoy my wedding day! But instead I'm being forced to marry Barty of all people! Who, by the way, scarred my neck just hours ago with dark magic! This-this-" She gasped as she felt the tears rolling down her cheeks, finding herself unable to speak, to shout, as her body shook with sobs.

There was a soft sigh and she felt a hand on her shoulder, moving her slowly across the room to be sat down in the plush chair. "I know this must be hard for you-"

"What would you know?" Hermione snapped inbetween her little hiccups.

"I didn't get to choose my marriage either you know. It was arranged by my parents. Not quite the same as your situation but I can understand how you must be feeling, I felt it before too." Hermione snorted in disbelief. "Just take a moment to calm down and put the dress on and we'll get started with your hair then." With that Narcissa turned and started going through the small drawers nearby.

She forced down another sob, taking a moment to clear her head, rein her emotions back in. This is what they want, she told herself. They want you to react this way, so don't. Nodding her head determindly she got up from the vanity chair and walked over to the dress, beginning to take her robes off.

"Wait."

Hermione turned and felt heat rise to her cheeks once again. In outstretched hands was a matching pair of rather raunchy black lace bra and knickers. Hesitantly she took them from the Malfoy who turned back around to go back to the small drawers. Once the embaressment had died down she realized she was to put these on and remembered the part of the law that said to consumate the marriage on the wedding day. Her blush deepened further from both embaressment and anger this time. Perhaps she should have made a marriage of convience to someone else, just so that she wouldn't have to be with a Death Eater. "If I were to make a run for it right now... what would you say my chances are?"

"Zero percent." Narcissa looked up and over her shoulder at the Gryfindor girl, a slight frown was etched across her face. "I wish I could say it's not that bad but... your situation is largely different then mine was. I wasn't getting married to an enemy." Hermione couldn't help but release a short laugh at that. That was true. She was in a bad situation and even being the brightest witch of her age she couldn't find a single way to get out of it. Unfurtunetly. She felt trapped here, which she very much was.

Once Narcissa had looked away again she quickly undressed fully before pulling the undergarments on first, then turning to the dress that she couldn't deny was beautiful. She pulled at the zipper with her fingers before stepping in and gathering it up to put her arms through the straps. Turning her hand back she reached for the zipper to pull it back up which thankfully wasn't too high. With it fully on now she could feel how it seemed to wrap perfectly around her body. Glancing down her eyebrows shot up. She had known from before that the neckline dipped down but she hadn't expected it go so far down. It stopped midway between her breasts revealing cleavage she honestly didn't even know she had.

"If you could come over here once your done looking at yourself."

She jumped slightly and glanced up with a flush across her face. Taking in a breath to try and compose herself she walked over to sit herself back in the plush chair. "This should work." Her hair was pulled to the side but instead of feeling it being magcially brushed she felt something wrap around her neck. Hermione's eyes raised to the mirror to see that a ivory lace choker with similar floral designs to the dress that was atleast three inches in width was being fitted along her neck. Before completely covering it though she noticed a scar along the right side, clean cut, in the shape of a C. A shiver passed through her just before it was covered. She knew what it stood for. Crouch. "There. That covers it and matches with the dress."

Looking back towards the mirror she felt a slight relief go through her that the scar was no longer visible. It made her feel like a piece of property rather than a witch. "Thank you." she murmured.

Narcissa just gave a small nod in response before giving a flick of her wand. Hermione's hair untangled immediately and soon the curls were more smooth, flowing gently down instead of in the normal haphazard manner. No individual hair was sticking out at odd angles any longer. "There's gloss in the drawer to your right."

Hermione reached to open the drawer, flipping through the various colors for a moment until her fingers settled on a light red that was on the verge of being pink. "Where is the," she took in a breath. "ceremony going to be held?"

"In another room here. It's not much bigger than this one. Only a few people will be there, you're not being paraded around or anything. This... is actually a bit hush hush within the Death Eaters. Me and Lucius only know because it's held in our Manor, and keeping it on the down low will gain us more favor with the Dark Lord."

"Hush hush within the Death Eaters?" Hermione questioned wondering what that meant for her.

"The more trusted are called the Inner Circle. Within that there are only a few of us that know of this at the moment. We're not unaware of the possibility of spies Hermione, and there's no reason for it to get out that you're marrying a Dea-former Death Eater until the marriage has actually taken place." Hermione hung her head at that. It made sense.

Taking the top off the gloss she twirled it up slightly before applying it to her lips. She made a small 'pop' sound when she was done having pressed her lips together then putting the cap back on. "You don't know why though."

"No." A pause. "Stand up." Pushing herself from the seat Hermione stood up. "It'll be a short walk but I won't have you sniffling on your way. Hold you head up high, don't slouch, keep your back straight. Smile, they'll stare, but ignore them. Don't show that you're unhappy, be strong."

Hermione blinked as she did as told before walking forward a few steps to give Narcissa a demonstration. Stopping she turned to look at her. "Why are you telling me this?" She didn't understand why the Malfoy would be giving her advice right now.

For a moment she thought she saw Narcissa's composure fall but then there was that steel expression again. "I never had a daughter. Right now, it feels like I do. Are you ready?"

Hermione bit her lip before forcing a smile and nodded. "I'm ready."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Curls up with a hot cup of cocoa.

Setting her bag below the long table that contained other Gryfindors, Ginny slipped onto the bench. "Hey guys." Looking up from the table she frowned at the sight of Ron and Harry with worry etched onto their faces. "What?"

"Ginny," Harry started, "have you seen Hermione since last night?"

She had started to grab for one of the lunch sandwiches but her fingers stopped mid-grab. "Hermione? I haven't seen her since she stormed out of her dorm with that letter from the Ministry and had to go to my own dorm to get sleep." At the shared glance between Harry and Ron she quickly went to add, "I did try to check on her in the morning but I woke up late. Once I got down to breakfast I just figured she had finished early and gone off to the library to get in extra studying before classes like usual. Did something happen?"

"We're not sure." Harry said. "It's just we saw her last night when she came down into the commons and tried to leave through the door. Professor McGonagall was there at the time and Hermione mentioned needing to go the Ministry and was holding one of those letters saying it was a mistake and that she needed to speak with someone at the Ministry."

"I tried to ask her who she got but she totally blew me off." Ron added. "She was in a bloody rage."

"Have either of you spoken with McGonagall yet?" Ginny asked with a raised brow, wondering what could possibly be going through their heads that they hadn't thought to speak with Professor yet.

"No." Ron said slowly. "We-haven't had class with her yet." It was clearly a lie. They hadn't even thought to go to her about Hermione's whereabouts. This is exactly why they needed her around.

"Well then hurry up with the food and I'll go with you to her office and we'll get this all figured out." Ginny said before diving into her food with renewed vigor.

It didn't take very long for the group to finish as they were all starting to worry even more with every other second that passed. After grabbing their bags from under the table they hurried from the Great Hall, running down the castle passages to the Transfiguration classroom. They burst in with the knowledge that no classes were going on right now.

Professor McGonagall looked up from her desk, startled as Harry called ahead of them just before they reached the desk, "Professor McGonagall!" They all stopped together in front of the desk but Harry was the first to continue speaking, "Have you seen Hermione? She used the floo in your room last night didn't she?"

That was news to Ginny, but it would be the fastest way to get to the Ministry. "No. She's still at the Ministry currently."

"Eh?" All of them looked rather surprised at this.

"She's still there?" Ginny asked in disbelief.

"Yes." McGonagall said while setting her writing quil aside. "I got a message from Dumbledore earlier this morning saying how she was still there working out whatever mistake they made and so that she wouldn't be in class today. The Ministry estimated that the problem would be worked out by tomorrow. Now, if that's all I need to get back to these assignments."

"That's all Professor." They exited the room Ron being the first to comment further,

"She's probably yelling at them. Correcting them on their own law." His comment sent a few laughs through them until he asked, "Who did she get paired with anyway that made her go off to storm the Ministry singlehandedly?"

Ginny frowned at this question. "I don't actually know. I tried to look but she took the letter away before I could see. She just said, 'You don't want to know who,' and took off."

"Seems rather dramatic for Hermione." Ron muttered.

Ginny sighed as she looked over to her brother. "They are telling her who she has to spend the rest of her life with basically. If you don't get a match you like on your birthday you're going to be a lot more dramatic but just not get anywhere."

Ron scowled at that and the group laughed as they walked down the hall.

**/ / /**

A hand was laid on her shoulder and then the familiar feel of apparation came over Hermione. Blinking she found herself in a small room accompanied by Narcissa who quickly went to stand over by Lucius-who was currently looking at the door-near the left wall. With a quick glance she noticed Cuthota sitting in a chair that was pressed to the right wall, a witch she didn't know-who was beaming like a fool-that she figured must work for the Department of Marriages, Births, and Deaths and was here to chain her to Barty was standing practically standing right across from her. The moment her gaze settled on Barty though she felt her smile slip from her face, the little facade crumbling within a milisecond.

He was smiling at her. Not a sincere smile but a sick and twisted one that showed nothing but triumph. Barty looked the same as when she last saw him, the robes a slightly darker color but they certainly weren't formal. He wasn't trying to make the illusion that this was an traditional marriage, much less consenting. If nothing it seemed he was mocking her even as she felt his gaze travel up and down her body stopping only when his eyes reached her face again.

She had to bite down on her tongue to stop herself from shouting obscenties at him. Not because he was leering at her-which he very much wasn't. But because he had a scowl set into his face, as if she disgusted him. She narrowed her own eyes at him before glancing to the Official from the Ministry standing next to him who didn't seem to notice the growing tension in the room, or simply didn't care.

Taking a breath she forced her feet forward very much aware that the people around her were to be the 'witnesses' of the marriage even as they kept her there. To keep her from running away. There was no doubt in her mind that all of them had a stupefy on the verge of their lips. The idea that the Ministry Official could also be a Death Eater was fresh in her mind. After all that had happened she honestly expected it.

She curled her hands into the side of her dress as she approached, just to stop them from shaking. In fear or anger, she was unsure. Perhaps both. Probably both. She stopped to stand across from Barty, on the other side of the Official. Slowly she unwrapped her fingers from the dress to move infront of her, clasping them together and hoping he hadn't seen the way they shook.

The Ministry Official began ceremoniously, "We are gathered here today," Gathered? Hermione thought, if this was a gathering she was a... bloody hell she was already in a unbelievable situation. "to join this man," Murderer. He's not a man, he's a murderer in a man's body. "and this woman," I'm bloody seventeen! She wanted to shout. Still a teenager. A young lady if anything, but not a woman. "in matrimony."

The Official turned to Barty, "Bartemius Crouch, do you take this woman to be your wife," You mean his prisoner. "to live together in matrimony," Hell. With firey flames and souls screaming in torment. "to love her," She had to hold back a sound of disbelief. As if he ever could. As if he had ever loved in his lifetime. "to honor her," How was he suppose to do that, precisely? "to comfort her," A laugh was bubbling up in her chest. She was unsure if it was because of the insanity of this situation or if she was about to go into an anxiety attack. Hermione was barely able to hold it back. "and to keep her in sickness and in health," She was certainly sick now. Sick to her stomach about what she knew would be coming after this. Dreading it. "forsaking all others," As if. The Death Eaters dirty work was his priority. Always would be. "for as long as you both shall live?" For as long as she was useful was more like it. Whatever use she had, she was still unsure about that herself.

"I do." Barty said, his voice was calm even as his gaze on Hermione made her skin prickle in discomfort. It was practicallymurderous in itself.

The Ministry Official then turned towards her, "Hermione Granger, do you take this man to be your husband," No I bloody do not. "to live together in matrimony," Oh, just shut up. "to love him," That laugh was in her throat now and she pressed her teeth together to keep it down. "to honor him," This person really was trying to make her make a fool of herself. "to comfort him," Never going to happen. "and to keep him in sickness and in health," Does that mean I can poison him into sickness and just keep him like that? "forsaking all others," Never. She was sure that single word was going to turn into a mantra of hers soon enough.  "for as long as you both shall live?"

She ground her teeth together for a moment, feeling a wand being raised out of sight to point at her. Certain atleast one was drawn on her. Waiting for the words. Taking in a breath she breathed out, "I do." She hated the fact that the words had past her lips, but in reality, she wasn't in control of this part of her life. Even if she wanted to be. That couldn't happen while the law was still in place.

Looking back to Barty again the Official simply stated, "Repeat after me,"

Barty didn't seem to even skip a beat as he started speaking, slow and deliberate while looking directly into Hermione's eyes. She personally felt as if his next words were a threat rather than a promise, "I, Bartemius Crouch, take you Hermione Granger, to be my wife, to have and to hold to this day forward," A shiver ran down her spine thick with fear. "for better, for worse," Her hands were shaking again and she dug her nails into the skin. "for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish," She blinked to hold back the tears trying to escape her eyes. "till death do us part." The ring of finality in that last statement was almost enough for her to double over in pain.

 _Back straight_ , she reminded herself and stood tall. Barely waiting for the woman between them to ask Hermione to repeat after her she began, "I, Hermione Granger, take you Bartemius Crouch, to be my husband, to have and to hold to this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part."

She could see that the Ministry Official was smiling from the corner of her eye, "By virtue of the authority vested in me under the laws of the Britain Ministry of Magic, I now pronounce you husband and wife." A small pause until the inevitable came. "You may kiss the bride."

Her heart practically leapt in her throat, she could feel it beating faster as a hand moved forward, fingers wrapping around her wrist to pull her toward him. She wanted to shrink back away from him, then there was the other hand on her back keeping her from doing so, traveling right up her spine to stop at the neck. Instinctively she tipped her head back as he leaned down to brush his lips against hers. Even though it was brief she could still feel that light preassure, the feel of his own lips lingering against hers. If she were to swipe her tongue across she would probably taste him. Hermione kept her mouth closed even as the feeling of apparation came over her.

The first thing she became aware of was that it was dark. She could barely make out anything, it looked like a bunch of shadows, one moving directly infront of her. Barty. His hands were no longer on her and she could tell he was moving away because the warmth that had been resonating from where he stood moments ago was fading. The cold in the room was creeping across her skin and she stepped forward, hearing the wood beneath her feet make a rather distinct creak. She froze for a moment, not entirely sure why, but as if she had expected something to happen.

Glancing around she could only see various shades of black around her. The darker and bulkier she figured were any furnishings. The smaller and slightly lighter shade on top of them being whatever lay ontop of them. When she took in a breath though the air didn't taste of dust like she expected it to. It didn't seem abandoned, just that all the lights were out. She finally found her voice, "Where are we?"

There was a soft click of a switch from across the room, a single wall light flooded the room with light, every other second. It was flickering, the bulb inside obviously close to burning out. A chill ran down her spine though as she caught images of what was around her in time with the light flashes.

She had been right about the bigger furnishings. There was a long wooden table pressed up against one wall, the same color it had been in shadow. Hermione released a small gasp at what she saw on top of it. Skulls, white and gleaming in the light, clearly having been polished were lined up along the back of the table parallel with the wall. Most of them looked like those of small magical creatures, others... she was unsure what they were from. Infront of those were simply potion ingredients in jars, folded cloths, whatever suited that particular ingredient better so that it was kept fresh.

The light flashed again and she jumped when she saw a dark shadow appear at the corner of her eye that hadn't been there before. She was rewarded with a chuckle. "What are you so afraid of Hermione Crouch?' Her blood froze over at the last name used for her. His last name. Signifying that it was true. That she was now married to him, legally even. A fucking lunatic with skulls in his bedroom. Well, she couldn't say he was boring.

Swallowing down nothing but dry air as she glanced to him, quickly realizing that it had just been his dark robe that she had seen so suddenly that had startled her. Not bothering to answer his question she repeated her own, with a slight twist. "Where am I?"

His smile curled up more, into a smirk. "My room, at our house. I suppose you didn't bother to ask for the full details of the law back at the Ministry, Hermione or you would have known wouldn't you? Being the brightest witch of your generation, I would have thought you knew." She stared at him, bewildered. What? It hadn't said anything about having to live together with the person, it... No. It did. Not quite so clearly but under the requirements on number three it mentioned spending time together. Such a thing could easily be accomplished if they were just in the same vicinity, the same house. That and it was expected for a newly wed couple-consenting or not-to move in together. Realization crept across her face. "Have you figured it out then?"

She couldn't stop the bile from rising in her throat from this turn of events. "It's only for seventy two hours." Three days a week. She... she could deal with it.

"Actually, it's fourty eight, because of your schooling." Two days! Even better! Wait...

"What else does it say in the fine print?"

Barty waved his hand towards the door as he spoke, though it was short and clearly not a message for her to leave. "There's a copy on the kitchen table if you really want to look at it later. You're busy right now, remember?" She opened her mouth to snap that she wasn't but instead drew in a breath sharply. Her head was shaking back and forth before she could even stop the action. This couldn't be happening to her- "I have to say, Narcissa meant it when she said she was going to dress you up. At the time it was more of a threat of course. Rather surprised she went through with it..." He took some steps toward her while he spoke and she just stared at him, heart beating loudly in her ears. His hand raised, first touching at her waist before going up, his fingers barely even touching the fabric, but she could still feel it since the dress was skin tight along her upper body. "Not a bad selection." There was a brief pause as his hand curled over her shoulder, brushing her hair from it. "This is for?" he inquired while looking at the lace choker around her neck, a single finger reaching out to brush against it.

Hermione shivered at his touch, a sort of shock rolling through her body at the contact, and not the pleasant kind. "It-Narcissa gave it to me. To go... with the... dress." she couldn't stop her voice from wavering when his finger moved up along her neck, dipping under her chin to go to the other side.

His brow raised slightly at her. "Really?" His finger tucked under the choker and for a moment he was silent looking at the lace on her neck as if studying it. In the next moment there was a swift tearing sound and she could feel the lace flutter away down from her neck to land on the floor somewhere. "Looks as if it was hiding this." Feeling him trace the C on her neck she had no doubt in her mind what 'this' was.

"I don't like it." Hermione said quickly, not wanting to get Narcissa in trouble for making her semi-more comfortable, for a little while anyway.

"I take it you still don't like me either?"

Hermione bit her lip, not seeing the point in answering the question. Surely he could see the answer in her eyes. Instead she asked her own, "Where's my wand?"

He smirked down at her. "You don't need it right now." His finger was continuously stroking the letter on her neck, each time it just reminded her of how powerless she had been before within the Ministry itself. When Barty leaned forward she stilled even further fully expecting his lips to fall on hers. Instead he leaned in past her face, moving her hair aside once again. She jumped slightly when she felt his lips on her neck, on the scar he had made, mimicking the shape with his tongue.

She could quite literally feel the fear pumping through her veins when his teeth brushed over her flesh, nipping at it while his hand lowered to her legs to grab at the dress, tugging the fabric up all at once, bunching it around her waist. Her body was bent very slightly backward and then his arm was under her thighs and lifting her up only to let go a few seconds later after having moved forward.

Hermione hit the bed with a soft _thump_ , feeling her heart beat increase, echoing loudly in her ears as she stared up at him. He pushed the dark robe off himself quickly, leaving a pair of trousers and a loose shirt in it's place. His hands went down to undo the trousers. She started moving back, to get away. That's when he leaned over, hands moving forward, fast like a snake to grip both her wrists, raising them above her head until they bumped against the headboard. Pulling her hands together just a single one was used to wrap around hers, the other one missing from her skin.

She panicked the moment she heard a rattle of chains. Bucking her hips up she tried to throw him off but he just pressed himself against her still clothed body, she squirmed beneath him, her movements getting restricted even further as he moved his body to counteract her own.

There was a soft clang above her, it echoed in her ears, the scream that had been building up in her throat was let loose in response. The metal was immediately digging into her left wrist and another clasped around her right, keeping them above and out of the way. Keeping her from being able to push him away, hit him, anything. She could only hope that someone had heard her, was hearing her desperate cry for help.

He grinned down at her, tongue flicking out to the side in his usual deranged manner. "Scream all you want, Hermione. No one is going to hear you. We're miles away from any city, town, campsite, whatever your mind can think up. Just remember that." She could feel his hand had ventured down again, hear the rustling of his pants as he pushed them down. Not being able to see it comforted her slightly but then his hands were on her thighs, keeping her pinned down and the bucking of her hips to a minimum.

"No, no, no." She shook her head from side to side, feeling his fingers graze her inner thigh before pulling her panties-to the side. He wasn't even going to take them off her body? A prodding at her pussy confirmed her suspicions a moment later. Her eyes were starting to become hot and wet, burning. "Get off me."

Leaning forward he bent his head down to be parallel with hers. "Not yet." he growled directly into her ear. Her heart rate sped up as she felt his breath redirecting to brush along her neck. The left side suddenly felt warm, wet. He was licking her neck then pulling the skin lightly into his mouth before sucking softly. The only thing she knew was that his actions there were sure to leave a hickey. A scar and a hickey on her neck. That... she would rather not think about it.

She wasn't given much of a chance as his hips thrust forward and she felt him invading her, felt something inside her tear up so suddenly that she couldn't help but scream. Pain was washing through her body, wave after wave of it. Him pounding into her at the same time wasn't helping one bit. The metal along her wrists was cutting into the flesh. Tears streaked down her face as she yelled in pain.

The skin of her neck was pinched between a pair of teeth and she screamed again, thrashing her arms above her. Just hoping the chains would come loose, but they held strong. This wasn't how this was suppose to happen! This wasn't suppose to happen at all! She kept shouting the words in her head but each spark of pain in her center reminded her that it was happening.

When she felt him release within her, heard the groan crystal clear due to his mouth being right below her ear, she couldn't deny that fact anymore. It was happening. It had happened. Feeling him pull from within her she whimpered as another spark of pain went through her, admittedlyduller than the rest.

After a second of just laying there she tugged at the chains binding her wrists to the head of the bed, trying to get him to undo them. Barty made no such movements towards her. He had simply retrieved his trousers and robe from the ground and then put them back on before turning to look at her. She tugged at them again now that his gaze was on her.

"I don't think so."

His words cut deep into her, not as much as he had previously,personally. Her throat was raw from her screaming but she parted her lips to force a sound out. Pausing for a moment, wetting her lips, she tried again. "Please undo them."

Her words were met with laughter. "Please? You think that word will get you anywhere here? That it holds any weight? At all?" He walked over to stand at the side of the bed. "I'm going to make this very clear to you Hermione, you're here because of the Ministry. Because of the new law and the means as to which they decided to set people up together. If you try and file a complaint of abuse it'll never reach a non-Death Eater within in the Ministry. You are stuck with me. You're mine to do with as I please every weekend. Got that?"

For a moment she was silent, but she wouldn't let his threats get to her. Hermione raised her head at an angle, meeting his gaze. "This is all a fraud. A mistake. You and I know it. You and your fellow Death Eaters messed with the ritual and once the Ministry realizes it's error I'll be out of this so-called marriage." It hurt to speak but she managed it.

Barty's eyes narrowed and he leaned down toward her, his face hovering over hers, forcing her to settle back into the comforter. "Is that what you think?" His voice was suddenly much lower than before, clearly made to be threatening. "Should I let you in on a little secret?" Barely a second passed before he went on, not waiting for her to answer. "I didn't do anything to the ritual. Neither did any of the Death Eaters. You were to be mine since the day you were born."

Hermione took in a sharp breath. "What?"

His expression quickly changed from dead serious to seriously amused. "Do you always believe everything you hear?" He was chuckling now as he gazed down at her.

She felt anger flood through her. "You... how could you even... why would you say something like that?" She tugged on her chains again, wishing she could move her arms, hit him after saying such things.

"Your expression, it's rather funny from where I stand." he sneered down at her.

Hermione glared at him. "You lied. Just to amuse yourself?"

"Perhaps." She continued to glare at him, not about to fall for it again. "Maybe I'm lying, maybe I'm not. That's for you to decide, isn't it?" He turned from her then, starting for the door.

"Where are you going? Undo this!" Hermione snapped after him while tugging at her wrists once again, the chains rattling loudly in her ears.

"I have work to attend to. You on the other hand, do not." He smiled at her then, the only word she could think of to describe it was deceptive. "Get some sleep, _honey_." With that he closed the door behind him as he left the room.

For a moment Hermione was stunned into silence from his last word. Honey? She didn't think she would ever be able to associate that word with something sweet again for as long as she lived. Then the realization that he had just left her here, chained to his bed, hit her hard. It sent her heart racing, frantically beating away at her chest feeling rather trapped. When was he going to be back to undo them? How long would he be gone for? How long would she have to stay like this? Where the bloody hell had he stuck her wand? When-what-

"Bartemius Nyle Crouch Junior! You get in here right now and take these chains off me!" she shouted as her rage overcame her. She couldn't believe him. No, she could. This man was fucking _insane_. The fact that he would do something like this shouldn't surprise her. The fact that he had left the bottom of her dress bunched up around her waist shouldn't either. Now that she thought about it, it was rather cold in this room, and he hadn't responded to her at all.

Hermione huffed as she sank back into the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Had he already left? Before or after she yelled? She considered it for a moment. "Hey! Mental patient!" Waiting for a few seconds and not hearing anything in response she ruled out him being here any longer.

With a whimper she squirmed up the bed, each movement making the chains dig into her wrists, another whimper crawling up her throat. By the time she had succesfully pulled the blanket loose with her feet and managed to get semi-underneath it she felt as if she had sawed her hands off. Of course the dull pain reminded her that they were still there.

She turned her head to the side while lying on her back as she couldn't lay anyother way due to where both her hands were. Tears were soon running hot down her face again as she just thought over the past events. Eventually she drifted into an uneasy sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have just discovered something. I have absolutely no control over the lengths of these chapters. Therefore they will be whatever length they want to be.

Even in the depths of sleep she heard a sudden and sharp crack. Glass shattering to fall onto the wood floor boards.

With a gasp she sat up, fear already pounding anew through her veins at the sound. It took her a few seconds later to realize that the door had slammed after it. Her brow crinkled and she opened her mouth to call out but then stopped herself. If Barty was breaking things it definitely wouldn't be best to be around him. Besides that, she would rather he left her alone. She wished she would never have to see him again but knew that was very unlikely to happen.

Her dress was still bunched up around her waist, the blanket though had served to cover her below that. She didn't feel any more pain, which she was thankful for. Reaching up to pull strands of hair out of her face she froze for a moment. Glancing down she could faintly see a darker tint to her skin where the chains had been around her wrists.

They weren't there anymore. He had just left the room... in a rage if the broken bulb scattered in pieces on the floor was any judge. But, he had removed the chains. Relief flowed through her at this. Her lips tugging upward into a small smile. Not only because her wrists weren't in constant pain anymore-though she found when she moved them that a dull ache started where the clasp had rested. It was because it meant she wasn't completely defenseless like before. Without being chained down any longer she could try to get out of here.

Hermione bit at her lip. Where was she to go though? No. That wasn't her top priority yet. She had to find her wand. Figure out where he would put it. Considering he had left her in here for however long she was able to eliminate the possibility of it being in this room, his room.

Leaning over she pulled the covers off her before tugging her dress down to gather at her feet again. Sitting up she had to rest for a moment as her stomach did somersaults on her before growling rather loudly. She clentched her teeth as she felt a fresh wave of exhaustion hit her.

It seemed a bit much. Even if she hadn't eaten much for today besides a cookie. Which reminded her, bakery goods did not fix problems. Well, except hunger. Though she would need more than a couple cookies to stop her stomach from cramping up on her.

Why the hell was she thinking about food at a time like this? She needed to get out, she needed to-

_Crash._

Her head whipped around to stare at the door that was now wide open with Barty filling in the doorway as he glared at her. There was a strange glint in his eyes that sent her heart sky rocketing to catch into her throat, making it hard to speak.

"If you're quite done doing whatever it is you think you're doing in here. Or thinking about for that matter. Get _out_ of my room. Now." At his words she practically jumped off the bed, pressing her palms down on the mattress as an extra boost. She regretted that course of action instantly as she flinched and hissed at the same time. A shot of pain had just gone through each of her wrists. She raised her arms up rubbing lightly at her left wrist to try and dull the pain but it just sent more smaller shocks under her skin. "Hurry it up, Hermione. I don't have all day." A shiver went down her spine. From his tone of voice she must be getting on his last nerve.

With a quick nod of her head she started for the door until her gaze landed on the floor and the shredded lace choker. Dropping to her knees she picked up the two tatters and started to get up once again to hurry out of the room. A hand seemed to reach out from nowhere but she knew it could only be the one other person in the room, the house. His fingers wrapped around her wrist and she whimpered rather loudly from her skin there being so raw and more sensitive now because of those damn chains he had had on her previously. If she ever got the chance to curse him for that-

She was tugged forward then, felt the hand let go of her wrist. Her eyes widened a moment later as she registered that the floor was speeding up at her. She hit it. Hard.

Hermione groaned in pain from the hallway carpet, turning her head slightly she could see Barty standing in the doorway again, sneering down at her. "Stay out and go to school like a good little girl." His gaze landed on the remains of the choker in her hand and he raised his wand. She dropped it immedietly suddenly knowing what he was about to do. Fire shot from the tip of his wand, quickly turning the choker into a small pile of ash.

The door slammed shut a moment later.

For a few seconds she found herself just staring at the door. What the bloody hell could she have possibly done to make him so mad at her? Did he like seeing the scar he made on her that much? Or was it something else? If he way anyone else she might try asking. But she doubted he would tell her if she did.

The last time she had seen him he mentioned having to 'work'. She could only guess that whatever it was had gone badly or not as exactly planned for him to be in such a foul mood. But then again, it could have just been her. It's not like she suddenly knew him or anything, and when she thought more about it, it probably just had to do with his personality. Which just meant she was stuck with a person that was going to be rude to her all the time and throw her around like a damned rag doll.

She tried to huff with indignation but ended up whimpering instead. Her wrists hurts terribly. She wondered for a moment if they were broken but as she finally looked down at them and saw them in actual light she gasped. The skin was red were the chains had been against them, looking as if they had been rubbed raw. There was dried blood smudged along her wrists and she was sure it had dried on the metal as well.

Biting at her lip to surpress the cry building in her chest she slowly moved her legs beneath her to push up with them so she could stand. Not particularly wanting to use her hands for anything right now. With a glance at the door to Barty's room-simply to know which one to avoid-she started down the hall.

Finding a door to her left she gingerly tried to open it to find it locked. Letting go and flexing her hand to try and get rid of the brief pain that had sparked from her wrist from twisting the knob she continued down the hall, turning right into a longer hall. The next two doors she came to were locked as well and she hissed softly in pain each time she went to open them.

She stopped hesitantly infront of the third door just before the hall seemed to open up into the main living space. The other doors had been dark wood colored, but this one was cherry oak, a white trim on the edges. If anything it seemed more feminine, inviting even. Taking in a breath she readied herself to see more skulls as she reached for the door, turning the knob successfully this time. Letting out a sigh of relief at finding one that worked she pushed it open and stepped over the threshold.

Her eyes widened as she took in the room. A large canopy poster bed was set against the wall opposite of the door, directly in the middle. The wood of the bed was also cherry oak like the door, if she were to do a quick glance around the room it actually seemed to be a recurring theme. But she wasn't. Hermione was still staring at the bed with the white canopy, the top sheet with thread that looked as if it could have been made from gold, a fluffy white blanket that was poking out from beneath that, the ruby red pillows pressed to the headboard. It pretty much shouted, Gryfindor at her. Next to the bed was a small nightstand with just a candle wicker sitting on it. There was a small chandelier set between the door and bed, the candles on it had flickered to life the moment she stepped into the room.

Finally looking away from the bed she could see a dresser pressed to the right wall, a door was set into it as well further back along the wall. A small vanity was against the left wall along with a medium-sized bookshelf that currently sat empty. On top of the vanity was a silver box with a letter.

It only took her a moment to decide to go over and open it. She bit her lip and tried to ignore the pain in her wrists as she tore it open to then pull out a thin piece of parchment.

_Hermione Crouch,_

_I hope you're well when you find this. Barty said you were sleeping when I came by later in the evening. Not sure if I believe him or not. I think it would be best if you keep what I discussed with you to yourself. If you need someone to talk to about anything please contact me. I hope you don't mind but I've made some adjustments to your room to make you more comfortable here. Trust me when I say you wouldn't have liked the earlier design. Don't think Barty likes my version but it's your room so you should get more say in it._

_I've left you some wedding favors. It's not much but it should help with your problem. You'll find a pair of your school robes in the drawer. Considering that I wasn't able to see you I would suggest taking a shower before you return to Hogwarts, I've left a few things in the bathroom attached to your room. There's also a note from the Ministry in the drawer with the school robes. I found it in the kitchen and thought you should be able to find it more easily there._

_Take care, Narcissa Malfoy_

For a moment she just stood there with the letter in her hands but then she smiled. Looking around though she found no quil or bottle of ink to write back. She would have to get some of these things herself it would seem. Leaving the box for now she set the letter down before moving over to the other door and opening it to peak inside.

With just a glance she knew that Narcissa had redesigned this as well. She really would have to thank her later for this. It did make the house more inviting for her, and would make it easier for her on the weekends. She supposed she could just hole up in here for most of it.

The sink was very simple, but the fountain was obviously painted with gold. There was a lion's head where the water came from, with it's maw currently closed. The hot and cold handles had been shaped into paws at the end. The tile was white, framed by thin red lines. It was rather small, the shower being a modern rectangle sort. Not that she minded. Hot water sounded good to her right now. Reaching back she slowly pulled the zipper down before pushing the straps off her shoulders and then stepping from the dress. She set it down ontop of a hamper in the corner. Taking off her undergarments next and wincing at the sight, small drops of dried blood along her inner thigh. It was less than she had expected, but the fact that she had expected to see blood unnerved her.

She stuck them in the hamper before getting into the shower. Being careful with her wrists as she washed up, making sure to get rid of the blood traces on both her thighs and wrists even though it stung the latter. She stepped out of the water soon enough, grabbing a red towel from the wall Hermione moved to her own room only to freeze a second later.

Barty was passing by her open door. Why the hell had she left it open? How could she forget to close it? His gaze simply flickered toward her and he scowled just before she managed to cover herself with the towel, then he was gone from the hall. Seconds later she could hear a blaze of flames signaling that he had left.

She let go of the breath she had been holding and started to dry herself off. The smile that had begun to take place had crumbled again. Just the way he had looked at her even in the nude with distaste made her scowl. The Ministry certainly hadn't lived up to any of it's standards. Attracted to eachother her ass. Besides that, she found it rather insulting. She may not be the prettiest girl-or woman as the Ministry would have it-but she certainly wasn't ugly.

There was also the fact that there wasn't a single attractive quality in the guy. He looked like a damn mad man and was one. Originally put in Azkaban for torturing the Longbottoms, she was sure he had killed as well.

Walking over to the dresser she pushed the thoughts aside. Upon opening it she quickly spotted the note left by the Ministry and picked it up, to read it over multiple times not sure if she was reading it right or not.

_Dear Hermione Jean Crouch,_

_It has come to our attention that because of your particular marriage it may cause you trouble. Specifically, in school. Most people are still under the impression that your husband was a Death Eater, and, in fact, think he still is one. Because of this we would like to offer you a way to avoid being a new headline in the Daily Prophet or anyother newspaper for that matter, and avoid making your life at school harder._

_What we are proposing is very simple. For your remainder of years at Hogwarts your records will still state that your last name is Granger, while all our own files, medical, and Gringotts bank will show you as Crouch._

_Please take your time in deciding whether to accept or decline our offer. We wish you the best in your new marriage. If any trouble comes up with the Prophet or otherwise simply contact us at once._

_Sincerely, Supervisor Cuthota of the Department of Marriages, Births, and Deaths_

She found herself smiling after having read it over five times. It sent a wave of relief through her that she could still go by Granger for two more years, atleast at school. She didn't like being called Crouch and she most definetly didn't care to be featured on the Daily Prophet or have any news reporter trying to poke into her private life. Quickly setting in ontop of the drawer she reached inside to grab her school robes and certaintly less fanciful underclothes.

Hermione changed quickly, already going over a response to the Ministry in her mind. Before she left the room in search of parchment and a quil she walked back to the vanity to open the silver box Narcissa had left for her.

Her smile only grew when she looked at the contents inside. There were more of those chokers within, both lace, leather, and the usual cloth. Reaching in she picked up one of the more modern looking ones, a simple red that turned darker on the sketches of vines on the fabric.

Facing the mirror she fit it along her neck and started closing each individual clasp. Turning the choker along her neck until she could see the front where the designs began. She touched the part that hid the mark happy she couldn't see it anymore. Immensely more happy that Barty wasn't currently here or else he might turn this one to ash as well.

Closing the box she tucked it under her arm before heading out the door wondering what time it was and how many classes she had missed today due to the marriage. The light behind her was snuffed out when she walked over the threshold. Neat.

Stepping from the hall she found herself in a living room-of sorts. The only light came from a big window with a bench below it on the far wall leaving light gray streaks across the wood floor boards. Gray? It had been around the afternoon changing to evening last time she checked. Was it really that late? When her eyes landed on a small old fashioned curved wood clock they widened. There was a small engraving of am at the bottom, that looked as if it could move. Which meant there was another engraved piece in the clock that said pm. Which would suggest... morning. The next day. Her gaze flickered over to the time, six o'clock. Breakfast still didn't start for a little over an hour then.

That should give her enough time to write out her responses and get them to the Owlery but there was also the issue of her wand. Barty hadn't told her where it was, simply that she didn't need it back in his bedroom. It had to be in the house somewhere...

She glanced over the room again, taking notice of a quil and a stack of parchment on a small desk pressed into a corner of the room. There was an old couch with pieces of the thread torn, a coffee table sitting just infront of it with glass stains on the surface, a fireplace with a metal frame, an antique looking fan was above all of this. Snakes curling from it's center only for four to decend partly with the mouths open, obviously where the light would come from it it were to be turned on. However one did that.

Her wand wasn't in sight though and she felt a flutter of panic run through her. She moved over to the table where the clock sat and started pulling open the drawers, looking in quickly only to have her hope dashed with every single one of the four. Opening the bottom cabinet she found books covered in dust, the titles along the edge so faded to the point she couldn't make out the words. No wand though. She shut it angrily cursing at herself when her wrists ached in response.

Getting up she turned to look around the room again. Where else could he have- She dashed for the desk, opening the single long drawer at the bottom. Biting at her lip a moment later when she found it only held letters from the Ministry within as well as a deed to the house. Shutting it she turned slowly. There had to be something she wasn't seeing, something she had missed.

A sudden idea went through her mind. She had seen one used for the purpose of hiding things before in a muggle television show. How could she forget? Hermione walked over to the bench set beneath the window that was tucked into an alcove and bent down to knock on the side of it.

It echoed back at her. Hollow.

Setting the silver box on the ground she crouched down, hooking her fingers around the edge of the cushion to push up. Luckily it was light and didn't strain her wrists too much. Once it was open she glanced in, blinking in shock to find her wand within on the bottom. There was also a small folded piece of parchment and a small black box beside that. Reaching in she grabbed the parchment first, it was folded three times. She flipped open the first fold to see a handwriting she wasn't familiar with.

_I figured you would find this sooner or later._

Barty. He had left this here then. Gritting her teeth as anger went through her at this stupid game in which he had obviously played with her she opened the next part.

_In the box you will find a pair of earrings you are to put on._

She paused before reaching out with her other hand to grab the small box and open it expecting something to jump out at her. Instead she found small silver earrings with a single small black onyx on each. Glancing back to the paper she flipped the last part open.

_Think of it like a timed portkey. At five o'clock in the morning of every Saturday it will take you here. It only goes the one direction. If you are ever late I will find you, Hermione._

The last part was clearly a threat. Though if she had them on at all times she doubted she could ever be late. So the simple way to not ever let that happen would be to keep them on.

With a sigh she ripped the note to shreds before getting her wand out and pushing the cushion back down. Setting both the wand and box ontop of it she grabbed the earrings from within to put them on before closing the small black box and putting it in a pocket. She just needed to deal with this until the law was revoked. Picking up her wand she murmured, "Episkey." while pointing it at each wrist in turn. Slipping it into the wand pocket she rubbed at her wrists with relief. It felt good to not have them hurting anymore, not to see the skin red now that it was back to it's orginal color and not scarred.

Hermione walked over to the desk, grabbing a piece of parchment to move to the center of the desk and picking up the quil she began writing each letter in turn.

_Narcissa Malfoy,_

_I'm sorry about having been asleep when you came around. I was rather tired after all that has happened in the past twenty four hours. So I can assure you that Barty wasn't lying about me sleeping. Though I did notice he was in a foul mood this morning, still not sure if that's his usual mood or not. If he ends up at your manor today in an even more terrible mood I'll have to apologize in advance as I'm pretty sure it's my fault._

_Thank you for the lovely decor of the room, and the necklaces._

_Later, Hermione Granger_

She grabbed another piece of parchment, pushing the one up the desk as she started to write the last one.

_To Supervisor Cuthota of the Department of Marriages, Births, and Deaths,_

_After taking the time to consider your offer I will accept._

_Sincerely, Hermione Crouch_

With that done she grabbed both the letters and walked over to the fireplace, briefly pausing until she located the pouch of floo powder. Taking some in an unoccupied hand she stepped into the rather large fireplace and turned to face the living room. Taking in a breath she shouted, "Gryfindor Commons!"

She closed her eyes this time as the flames rose up to surround her, only opening them when the feeling of spinning round and round stopped. Ducking down she walked from the fire place, shaking her shoes off before stepping onto the carpet. She went up the stairs to the girls dorms first to drop off the silver box and grab two envelopes to put each letter in along with her book bag before heading back down. Pulling open the door she could hear the soft snoring of the Fat Lady and was careful not to wake her up as she slipped from the room.

Walking to the Owlery Hermione could feel her mind wandering.

It kept coming back to her now that she wasn't thinking about anything else. His words. His joke. As cruel as it had been. The possibility was making her mind spin. It's not like she had a video recording of the occurence. _I didn't do anything to the ritual. Neither did any of the Death Eaters._ The Wizarding world didn't have muggle technology for security means, obviously they had their own. She had to wonder how good it was though. There were of course Death Eaters hidden in the Ministry. With powerful positions. It would be easy for them to go in and mess it up even with more security. But, then, maybe... not.

She shook her head, hard. It didn't matter how they got through. It was the simple fact that they had.

Quickening her pace up the steps to the top of the Owlery it hissed into her mind again. _You were to be mine since the day you were born._ A shiver passed down her spine just at the mere idea that it could be true. Fate was cruel if it was. To bind her to that murderous lunatic.

Don't think about it. He's just trying to get to you, she told herself. Playing little games with your mind. He said it was a joke. Cruel and evil. The typical Death Eater stereotype that they all played true too.

She pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind. Picturing a door that she closed and locked mentally. It would be best not to ever think about it again. In fact, the next time she sees Barty, in a foul or worse mood she might as well actually give him a reason to be mad at her. She would rather not try and figure out if it was something she did or something else entirely.

Drawing in a breath after having climbed all those steps she walked into the Owlery, glancing around to look for an owl that could send the message. It went through her mind that she should get her own owl.

Her gaze went first to the general school owl coops, finding them empty she slowly turned towards the students area. It was important she got both the letters out. Mainly the one concerning the Ministry, but also since she had to sign them with her actual last name. Something she would rather no one else see. Her eyes landed on a white and dark grey feathered owl. "Hedwig." she called to Harry's owl knowing he wouldn't mind if she borrowed him. Besides, Ron's owl was a bit... not very competent. What with getting lost and smashing into windows.

When the owl flew over to land on one of the perches nearby and hooted at her she smiled. "I need you to take this letter to the Ministry of Magic, in the Department of Marriages, Births, and Deaths at Cuthota's office." She fixed it to the owl's left leg before showing Hedwig the other letter after the owl hooted once again. "This letter goes to Narcissa Malfoy. Be careful getting there." Once she fixed the letter to the right leg Hedwig jumped from her perch to fly out one of the openings.

Hermione watched until she couldn't see the speck of white in the sky anymore. Noticing that it was lighting up she turned for the door pausing to reach up and make sure the choker was firmly in place before making her way down the stairs. The last thing she needed was her scar showing. Even if it looked more reminiscent to a crescent rather than the beginning of her last name.

Once she hit the last step she jogged back to the castle to escape the cool crisp morning air. Inside the castle now she walked swiftly down the halls until she came near the open doors of the Great Hall. She practically slammed to a halt, already hearing chatter from inside the room. Taking a moment to make sure she was presentable and hadn't missed anything before she resumed her walking and went into the large room. Her mind flashed back to fourth year as she walked, her book bag hanging loosely from her shoulder.

_The dark sky. Thunder sounding, echoing against the smooth stone. Lightning flashing from outside. The sudden downpour to be put out from a flick of a wand at the front of the Great Hall._

She bit lightly at her lip to drive her mind from the past. To focus on the now. How to get out of this situation. She just had to put her mind to it. Swinging a leg over the bench she sat herself down next to her friends. "Good morning." she said before reaching forward for a glass of juice as her stomach growled at her, insistent on being fed first before she got into a meaningful conversation.

The people around her quickly responded with a, "Hi Hermione," or "Morning."

"I told you she was coming back today." Ginny started saying while Hermione downed the glass in one gulp earning stares from her friends and a few of the other Gryfindors. Even Ginny stopped to just gaze at her for a moment.

"What?" she questioned, glancing at them. "I've been busy these last few nights and day. I'm hungry." Her stomach gave another little growl to confirm this fact. Picking up a piece of toast and spreading butter ontop of it she went back to listening to her friends since her own movements clearly said to leave her alone with any questions they had until she was done eating.

"Lavender said that when they all got up there was this silver box on Hermione's bed and that her book bag was missing. Plus her stack of envelopes went down a bit."

"But all the school owls are out because of this law and every seventh year is scrambling to get dates set for marriages and all that." Ron said, for once without food stuffed into his mouth. He glanced towards her after looking to Ginny and clearly ignored Hermione's pointed look as he asked, "How could you send a letter by owl in the current situation?"

She took her time in chewing just to annoy him before finally swallowing the scrambled egg down along with some of the toast. "I borrowed Hedwig." With that answered she took another bite of the mini egg sandwhich she had made.

"Did you ask Harry?"

Hermione just glanced towards Harry in response. "I don't mind." he said and she shot a grin at Ron surpressing the urge to stick her tongue out at him in triumpth.

"Well you certainly seem in a better mood then when everyone saw you last." Ginny remarked quite obviously thinking about when she stormed out of the girls dorm saying how she was going to the Ministry.

Everything about that trip had been unexpected. She nodded her head before picking up her refilled glass and taking a smaller amount than before. "I am." In spite of being thrown to the ground in the morning and yelled at for some inexplicable reason the rest of it had been rather nice, she added silently. The fact that her teachers wouldn't be calling her by that _thing_ was most certainly a perk.

"So it all worked out at the Ministry? You got the problem all sorted out?"

"Yup." She replied while working on making another egg sandwhich. "All sorted." That is in the aspect of her being married to a lunatic being done and over with.

"There really was an error in the match?" Ginny was staring at her with wide eyes.

Hermione took a moment to slather another piece of bread with butter before sticking it ontop of the eggs to complete her creation. An actual error in the match was apparently debatable but, "I've taken care of it." That was the gist anyway. Seeing her friend still looking at her with disbelief though she elaborated, in the false sense, "There was an error with the letter, not the match. They sent me the wrong one, just under my name."

"So how did you know it was an error then?" Ron asked.

She scowled at Ron realizing if they started asking indepth questions she would have to start making more things up. "By looking at the match, Ronald." To take the bite out of her words she added, "We never got along before and I already knew I wasn't attracted to him. So I just knew. A simple procedure of deduction considering the things this ritual is suppose to check for."

"Right." Ginny said before Ron could question Hermione once again. "It's suppose to check things like that. It said so in the Daily Prophet days ago. Things like compatible personalities, physical attraction, the whole shebang. Don't you read the Prophet Ron?"

"Not since it was trying to convince everyone that Harry and Dumbledore were part of a conspiracy last year."

Ginny looked as if she had nothing to say to that and Hermione felt her gaze land on her again. "That's a nice choker."

At the comment she almost froze. She had been trying to forget about it. Well, not specifically the choker, rather what it lay ontop of. Her fingers gave a little twitch and she had to surpress the urge to raise a hand and touch the right side of her neck where the scar was. "Thanks." she said somehow managing to keep her voice chipper while maintaining a smile.

"Where did you get it?"

She opened her mouth, on the verge of saying Narcissa but quickly corrected herself, "My mom. She sent a whole bunch of them in that silver box. Found them at a little store in England." The lie fell easily from her lips. It's not like they would believe her if she said Draco's mother had given them to her. Really it would just end up with more questions she rather not answer anyways. Which would then just lead to her having to tell them she was a Crouch now and she didn't want to remember that. She didn't want to think about her marriage, she especially didn't want to think of what happened last night. Even without the marks on her wrists, without the pain, she could still remember the feel of metal locked around them.

"That where the earrings came from to?'

"Yes." Hermione said swallowing down the remaining juice in the glass along with the bile that had begun to fill her throat. The fact that Barty had given them to her was most certainly not something anyone needed to know about, much less concern themselves with. Especially since they were given as another pair of chains. "So, how are your brothers taking this?" she asked to steer the conversation away from herself.

"They got their letters at night on the day they were sent out, like you did. Though neither of them went storming off to the Ministry." Ron said before Ginny could speak.

Giving her brother a quick glance Ginny turned back to Hermione. "We're actually going to my house after classes today where George and Fred are going to tell us who they got and hopefully what date they'll be getting married." There was a dreamful sigh from Ginny. "It'll be beautiful. I can't wait till we get to go to your marriage as well." She cringed inside. Right, that marriage that had lasted as long as it took to say the words before she was manacled to the bed and taken in a very painful way. Barty evidently did not know of the word gentle, or what it meant for that matter. Hermione stuffed a grape in her mouth just as Ginny asked, "Who did you say you got?"

For a moment she just blinked, a single word going through her mind. _Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!_ She hadn't even thought to come up with an alibi. "Guess." she said quickly opting to make a small game out of the matter until she could come up with someone.

"Uh, Lee?"

A moment of thinking about it and Hermione shook her head as she dumped some grapes from the bowl onto her plate. "No."

"Towler?"

"Who?" Hermione didn't even recognize the name.

"I'll take that as a no. Pucey?"

She took a second to just stare at Ginny. "No. Next." waving her hand for her friend to continue guessing and start naming people she actually knew.

"One of my brothers?"

"Didn't they tell you who they were marrying?" Hermione asked before throwing a grape into her mouth and savoring the sweet taste. She wondered briefly for a moment what sort of food would be in the house she shared with Barty. If there was any at all. Burned bread, probably.

"They want it to be a surprise." Ron informed her just before Ginny fired off her next guess.

"Roger?"

"No."

"Okay, I give up. Just tell us already."

Her mind spun and she threw out the first name that came to mind, "Blaise."


	6. Chapter 6

There was just a single second of silence, then Ron-who had been drinking pumpkin juice at the time she announced her fake husband-spewed liquid from his mouth to gape at her. His mouth worked, but unsurprisngly no sound could be made out as he choked slightly on the remnants of juice within.

Thankfully Ginny got out his question for him. "What?" Hermione bit at her lip for a moment, wondering if she should have thought this over more, not that her friends had given her much time in the first place.

"Is there a problem?" she asked, keeping any sort of panic from her voice. Had he already announced his marriage to his friends-which would evidently not be to her-and it had gotten around school? If that was the case then she was screwed. They would know she was lying, they would start asking questions, and-

"Well, no. I mean, it's just I wouldn't have expected it." Ginny went quite for a moment. "You, him, seem so different." Pause. "You're attracted to him? I'm not saying he's not attractive," Ginny tacked on quickly, raising her hands slightly as if in defense. "Just, you know. Err, he's a Slytherin and one would think another Gryfindor would suit you best. Admittedly he's not as bad as Malfoy." Putting her hands back down she was quite for a long moment. "Okay, I don't actually have anything against him."

"The Slytherin thing should be enough to be against it." Ron snapped, apparently having gained his ability to speak again. Hermione had started to relax at Ginny's reaction but frowned as Ron continued. "Most of them turned into Dark Wizards during the first war. What makes you think this time will be any different?"

"Malfoy took the Dark Mark." Harry added to which Hermione spun on him as she felt rage run through her.

"You still don't know that." she snapped. "You're blinded by your hate because of the bullying done to you-"

"I would think that's credible enough-" Ron got in.

"-for years and your general dislike of him. And don't add kindle to the fire Ronald! I already told you countless times that I don't know what I saw back at the alley, so enough of this," Grabbing her bookbag she stood up from the table. "I will see the two of you in class. Hopefully by then you've cleared your minds and have gained the ability to think rationally without the usage of stereotypes." With that she spun around on her heel and walked from the Gryfindor table and out of the Great Hall.

She just barely heard Neville ask, "What was that about?" as she passed by, but she didn't bother with an answer.

Once out of the large room Hermione stopped when she was out of view and leaned up against a wall to let out a breath of air she had been holding. Why were those two being so cynical? Maybe it would have been better if her mouth had said a different name. Still, she couldn't just sit there and listen to the accusations that may or may not be true. She was leaning toward true herself, but still, he was Narcissa's son and she considered the woman a friend. One of the few-the only one-she could talk to about certain circumstances. She wasn't going to just sit back and let them mouth him off after discovering that his mother wasn't a bad person herself.

She was about to push herself off from the wall when she noticed a group of Slytherins come out from the Great Hall, Malfoy at the front. Pansy, Crabbe, Zabini-

No, Blaise. That's what you called him at the table. She watched as they walked the opposite way, obviously taking the longer route to class that the sixth-year Gryfindors and Slytherins shared this morning. Taking a moment to think about it she pushed from the wall to follow after them. If her alibi was going to work she needed to speak with him and make a convincing enough reason for him to back her up. He might be a Slytherin but she wasn't going to listen to stereotypes about them. Never judge a book by it's cover.

Well, except her actual husband. Insanity being written on his face and by her interactions with him, very much insane. Of the course the fact that he had been... she frowned slightly as she walked. What House had he been in during his years at Hogwarts? She wanted to say Slytherin, but no one had ever actually told her, not that they had any reason to and Harry didn't know either.

Deciding it didn't matter right now she focused back on the pack of Slytherins infront of her as her mind started working on a way to first and foremost, separate Blaise from the herd.

Keeping far enough back that she hoped not to be noticed her mind spun, thinking of a possibility only to throw it back out a second later. She supposed she could just call out to him, but she would rather not have the other Slytherins listening in or even being around. Chucking that out she started roaming over the next idea. Molding it until it cracked and she had to start again. It felt neverending and almost painful everytime another one hit the ground.

Glancing casually back in their direction she froze in her tracks. He was gone, the rest were walking-turning a corner actually-but he... "Fuck." she hissed only to jump a moment later.

"Granger cursed. Almost can't believe what my ears heard." She turned quickly to see Blaise Zabini leaning against the wall as he looked at her. "Can't say I'm shocked though, what with you following a group of Slytherins. Since when did a lion go and voluntarily walk into a nest of snakes?"

Since extreme circumstances and my idiocy called for it, she muttered in her mind. When she spoke she just got straight to the point, not wanting to beat around the bush. "I need a favor."

At her words he certainly looked surprised. "And she gives a plausible reason." He was silent for a second though before simply asking, "Why?"

Hermione frowned, she didn't know how to explain and she most definetly didn't want to go into details if she could avoid it. "I dug myself into a metaphoric hole and my mind wasn't working at the time therefore I need your help specifically, and that's all you really need to know."

"You could atleast tell me what this favor concerns so I could actually think it over, and of course you would owe me a favor in return." Typical Slytherin.

"That's fine. As long as you agree to help me with a little thing concerning," she fought with herself in her head for a second before making a decision on what to say. Just be truthful, no more need to cause more problems. "this marriage law. I would also like to limit the amount of questions if you don't mind." she said gritting her teeth and hoping this would work.

"The marriage law? What are you planning to do throw a revolt against the Ministry? Everyone here knows you were there yesterday apparently 'fixing your match'. You created mainly two rumors because of that; either you were about to be thrown in Azkaban or actually got your match changed." There was a suspicious tone to his voice that she found annoying.

She had tried to get thrown in Azkaban and it hadn't worked. It had backfired on her in a very unpleasant manner. Her fingers twitched for the second time since coming back to Hogwarts.

Was it going to be like this all the time? Remembering that damn mark on her neck that she swore almost seemed to tingle, though she knew it was just the lace pressing against it. "I was obviously not thrown in Azkaban as I am standing here and I did not change my match." she snapped quickly, anger biting through her tone. Married to Bartemius Crouch Jr, her last name now Crouch. Gosh if the Ministry hadn't sent that letter she would have been shunned and ridiculed like crazy. " _No one_ can change their match. But that doesn't mean I can't fabricate one temporaily for the next four months."

Blaise looked about to interupt but she could see a certain understanding in those eyes so he must have gotten the message of what the favor was, but she might as well elaborate. "I need you to pretend that I'm your match and I'll do the same and it better bloody well be convincing. Which means you can't be on school grounds on the weekends because I won't be here since I'll be with my... match." she had almost said husband. "As the law requires. So yes, he isn't at this school, and no you can't know who. I don't want anymore rumors about me running about, nor the Daily Prophet sticking it's nose into my business as they're sure to be doing to plenty other students here."

"Wouldn't it be easier if you asked another Gryfindor?" A sense of panic rushed through her and she went to speak again but was quickly cut off, "I'm not saying no."

Her shoulders that had begun to rise self-consciously lowered. "I can't. They were asking me about my match then it got turned into a guessing game and my mind just blanked and yours got mentioned and I just can't." She had to restrict herself from throwing her hands up in frustration causing them to shake at her sides. "I need your help with this."

"That bad of a match huh?" Hermione was about to snap at him when he said, "I don't ask you about your match, and you don't ask me about mine." She felt curiosity peak as to why he wouldn't mention his either but considering hers she just nodded her head. He wouldn't be in the exact same situation as her obviously but she figured that-like her-he simply wasn't ready to announce it to the whole school or have them sneaking about trying to figure it out. "Then it's a deal. We just have to interact every once and awhile, like talk, right?"

"Yes." she said quickly. "Just talk, hangout a bit. That should be enough to convince everyone." After what Barty did to her she didn't want to be touched. Even after her shower she could still feel his hands occasionaly ghosting over her skin.

"As well as not being here every weekend."

"That's right."

"I do like that part, and it'll help with my own-Class is starting in a few minutes, better run for it."

She just nodded her head, pretending she hadn't heard the first part of the sentance as it was obvious from his expression that he hadn't planned to divulge that little bit of information. It made her feel less like a bitch though if that helped him with his own match.

Taking off at a run after him down the hall she hurried to class behind him.

It was just before the bell rang-announcing that all students should be in class by now-that the door to the Potions classroom was swung open and the two raced into class to opposite sides of the room. As she sat in her seat, swinging her bag into place under the desk Ron stared at her the whole time, looking to Zabini then right back at her. The moment he started to open his mouth Hermione hissed a "Shut up." in his direction.

Ron frowned at her and looked away to focus on the front of the room for once. Harry just gave her a look of disbelief. It was as if the both of them thought she had been joking when she said Blaise was her match. Which, she was... in a way, but they weren't suppose to know who.

It wasn't any of their buisness, she told herself as Slughorn started talking about what this lesson would pertain too. Her husband, who he was, what he had done to her-she had to fight back a shiver that crawled down her spine at the mere memory-it wasn't something they needed to know about. She wasn't even sure how a person would go about telling anyone-much less their friends-about that sort of thing. It wasn't something even she wanted to think about. So she didn't.

Pushing it to the back of her mind she put all her attention into the lesson, only talking with Harry since Ron seemed to have decided he wasn't talking to her. She ignored him right on back.

Her day seemed to continue like that through most of her classes, being ignored or ignoring the whispers around her that she would occasionaly catch a few words from.

"...came rushing through the door right behind Zabini..."

"... saw them running..."

"... a match?"

It would seem that the little stunt in Potions had started up rumors all on its own. Good. Then it would be easier for the two of them to convince everyone that they were a match, up until Blaise got married that is... She should really ask how much time she would be able to hide behind him. Otherwise when that time came she could just not tell anyone who her husband was no matter how much they pestered her about it. Yeah, that seemed like a good idea.

As soon as she stepped into the Gryfindor commons she was pulled aside by Ginny. "What is it?" she asked, wondering what was up.

"Oh it's nothing." Ginny said with a wave of her hand. "Just the fact that you and Blaise were apparently with eachother after breakfast, or that's what the rumors say since no one saw you together except in the dungeon hall and how you two rushed into Potions right before the bell rang."

"You sound surprised." Hermione said while lowering her own voice seeing that some people had glanced over, obviously wanting to confirm what the rumors were saying about the two.

"Well, I know he's your match and all-"

"Blaise is your match?" Lavender Brown interupted whatever Ginny had been about to say and Hermione was rather thankful she had. "So it's true then?"

"Yes. The Ministry matched me up with Blaise Zabini." She said it loud enough for the whole room to hear since everyone was eavesdropping anyway. Turning to Ginny she just asked, "Isn't it time to go and meet your parents and hear about your brothers?"

"Yeah I'll go get Ron and Harry." Ginny replied before going off to find the two, apparently having sensed that Hermione wanted to leave.

She followed after her friend, ignoring the people talking around her about the matches of the seventh years and her. Gossiping seemed rather popular today with all this marriage law stuff going on. She wondered for a moment if they would be this giddy when their own letters came from them. Though they wouldn't end up getting a worse pairing than hers, so they could have that comfort. Of course reactions would range anywhere from happy to miserable depending on but atleast they wouldn't get set up with someone that used them as an excuse of following the law.

It made her sick just thinking about it, about him. The way he spoke to her, treated her, the fact that he could-and was-getting away with it. But what he had said was true, her complaints would never reach anyone but a Death Eater and they wouldn't care about her plight. They would probably laugh and rejoice at the knowledge of what was happening to her. They would find it amusing.

There was just no way in hell though that she was going to tell her friends that she was now married to one and had been raped on her wedding night because of the law. The law... this was all the Ministry's fault. She wanted to wring the person's neck that had proposed the law. Watch their eyes bug out, face become purple-

"Hermione," a hand laid on her shoulder and she glanced up to see Ginny with Harry and Ron beside her looking at her with worry in their eyes. "are you okay?"

It took her a moment to realize that her nails were digging into her palms, that her jaw had tightened so much that her teeth were grinding against eachother, a scowl across her face. All because she had been thinking about it. After telling herself not to, to just forget it and not think about him while at school. She still had homework to catch up on, and just because O.W.L.'s were last year didn't mean she could let up on her exams this year.

Taking a breath she slowly uncurled her fingers, loosening her jaw to stop the growing pain that had started there. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go."

Ginny looked about to insist that she wasn't-which was true-when Harry interjected, "McGonagall said we could use the fireplace and floo powder in her room."

Hermione smiled at him just to show that she was grateful for it before taking the lead in going to the Professor's room. Slipping through the door she turned, already knowing where the fireplace was after her first time through here. She shoved the memory aside as she took a handful of floo powder and stepped inside the ash covered hearth.

"Don't come back too late." Professor Mcgonagal said from her chair, who was apparently watching the four of them go.Hermione gave a nod along with the others before saying, "The Burrow." as she threw the powder down. She closed her eyes so she didn't have to see the flames, though her stomach gave an uneasy twist as it made her feel as if she was floating along with the spinning. If there was anything she was going to do after Hogwarts it was going to come up with a better way to travel. Everything nowadays was capable of making people sick in one way or another.

"Hermione!" At the sound of her name her eyes flew open as Mrs. Weasely grabbed her arm, urging her out from the fireplace, "Come on, don't want to keep everyone waiting." Ducking low so she didn't hit her head she followed her into the living room to get hugged a moment later. "It's so good to see you!"

She couldn't help but smile as she hugged the woman back. "It's good to see you too Mrs. Weasley." It was just good to be back in this house. A place so full of life rather than the one she now lived in-No, stop thinking about that place. You're at the Burrow now.

While she was scolding herself the others had come through and been similarily greeted by . "Sit, sit." The woman was saying, waving her hands towards the couch. "George and Fred will be here any minute, your father as well." she added to Ginny and Ron.

Hermione walked over to sit on the couch first, sticking to the right side as Ginny sat beside her with Harry and Ron further to the right. A few seconds later the fire blazed green and Mrs. Weasely called out the twins names and ushered them into the living room area. Mr. Weasley came through the door and Molly dragged him into a chair before sitting down herself.

"Spill it!" Ginny said before her brother's could even start speaking which caused a round of laughter to go through the house before things settled again.

"Fine, fine." Fred said, with his hands up before clearing his throat as if about to deliver a speech. "After much processing and planning on the Ministry's part-" his words were met with a snicker from Ron and Hermione just rolled her eyes at the jab being made at the Ministry. Though she didn't particularily mind that they were making fun of the idiots that worked there. Along with Death Eaters, her mind whispered. "-Their _fantastic_ ritual-" Ginny giggled at the heavy sarcasm applied to the single word, thankfully interupting Hermione's straying thoughts and allowing her to stop her hand from curling into a fist again. "-has decided that my match will be," he paused, obviously for dramatic effect.

"Just say her name already and be done with it!" Ron snapped rather irritably at his brother.

Fred waited an extra second while looking at Ron clearly just to irritate him further before saying who his match was, "Katie Bell."

It was quite for a moment and then Harry asked, "You guys were dating before they came up with the law though, right?"

"Yup, so it could be that the Ministry knows what it's doing with that ritual or they just saw us together so they put us together. Which in that case they wouldn't know what they're doing and are just guessing and using a ritual as an excuse that everyone is right for eachother."

"What about you George?" Ginny asked.

"Angelina Johnson." George answered.

"Weren't you also going out beforehand?" Ron was the one to ask this time.

"Yes. That's why we came up with the conspiracy theory."

Even knowing such a theory couldn't possibly be true a part of her wondered if everything would have turned out differently if she had been dating someone herself before this whole mess started. Like maybe the Death Eaters would have targeted someone else. Someone else a part of the Order. Her mind went to Ginny and she shook her head softly so it wasn't too noticeable. No, she would never want her friend to go through what she had, plus whatever else Barty has planned for her.

A rush of anger went through her. He should have stayed locked up in Azkaban. She wasn't even sure how he got out the first time, but he should have stayed locked up then as well. If he had just never gotten out then Voldemort wouldn't have risen again and-

She fought back a sigh to not let everyone around her know that she was no longer with them. Hermione wasn't even laughing at whatever the twins were joking about that was making the others practically shake the entire house with their laughter.

What she had just thought wasn't completely true. Barty had been a major part of Voldemort coming back since he got Harry into the graveyard but it was that scared rat, Pettigrew that had helped with the ritual. All because he was scared of Voldemort, he helped him for such a stupid reason. You would think someone like that wouldn't, that they would want to hide and avoid the dark wizard. Instead he helped his nightmare come back to life. The person that killed his friends, made him give up the damned location.

It was all Pettigrew's fault.

Barty had just happened to be there... somehow. She doubted he was an animagus like Sirius had been. That's how Sirius had gotten out of Azkaban, because he wasn't a registered animags. It didn't matter how he had gotten out anymore now though. Besides, it was obviously Voldemort and other Death Eaters that had sprung him this time. The Ministry wasn't the sort of government to drag prisoners back out when new evidence was revealed. It may be cruel, but the Ministry was certainly worse than any muggle government she had personally known.

This marriage law definitely wouldn't have passed in the muggle world. Stupid wizards. Whoever had thought up this ridiculous law should truly suffer for eternity. The same with whoever had made the ritual they were using for thinking that it was possible to determine who would be best with who. Not to mention making it so easy to mess with. She seriously wished that she knew everything about the ritual so she could look it up and see if any part of it even had the slightest possibility of being legit. Which she highly doubted she would find. Breaking into the Ministry to find it would give her something constructive to do as well-

Hermione yelped when she was jabbed sharply in the shoulder and turned to glare at Ginny. "What was that for?"

"I'm not answering your question until you answer mine."

"What question?" She snapped annoyed at her thoughts being interupted. Right when she was coming up with something to do during the weekend too. She would rather have something to do other than Barty.

Ginny had jumped slightly at the sharpness in her voice and Hermione regretted snapping as she had in the next second and was on the verge of apologizing when Fred cut in, "About your match. It's not fair that just the three of them know. Plus we heard you went storming to the Ministry." They had heard about it? But they weren't even from Hogwarts! That receptionist must have talked. "Ginny just said that you actually got a mistake in your letter."

Not a mistake, a mistake was accidental. Hers was on purpose. She was really starting to hate the Death Eaters more than she had thought herself capable of these days. "Yes." she confirmed her alibi. "They put someone else's match on my paper by accident so I went off to the Ministry to get it sorted out. It took a whole day for them to figure it out of course." She rolled her eyes cause she was sure that in reality it would have taken even longer if that was really the case. "I got it all sorted out though and my actual match was Blaise Zabini."

There was a rather large sigh of relief that made Hermione turn her head to see Mrs. Weasley was smiling. "I'm so glad you all got good matches."

"But he's a Slytherin and a Pure Blood." Ron said. So is Barty Hermione thought before reprimanding herself. She didn't actually know about the Slytherin part, but he certainly was a Pure Blood.

"Yes, he may be but his family's reputation does not have the history of being part of the Death Eaters and I haven't heard much about him being a bully from any of you throughout your school years." Molly said this firmly while looking at Ron. "Besides, if he were to try anything I'm sure Hermione would be more than a match for him."

She couldn't help but smile back at the woman from the compliment. Though she doubted Blaise was that sort of guy. Her real husband was however and she hadn't been able to protect herself from him. Feeling her smile start to crack she turned quickly to Fred and George. "Are you going to tell us when you plan to get married?" She wanted to steer the conversation to a safer place, away from her.

"You first." Fred said quickly.

Hermione scowled lightly at how fast he turned the question back on her but just answered it promptly. "The last day, twenty fifth of January." The same thing she had orginally wanted before her marriage happened. Before she was- "Now it's your turn." she said quickly to stop herself from thinking back on last night.

"Mine is on the the tenth of January, George's on the seventeenth of December." It made sense. George and Angelina had been going out longer so they were more comfortable with marrying a fews weeks sooner than his brother. Though she didn't fail to notice that both were in the last half of the required time to get married.

"Oh good." Molly got up from her chair. "That'll give us time to prepare for each of your weddings then and they don't overlap. So I want to talk to you two about what you want to do for your weddings." she said to Fred and George before turning to Hermione. "Hermione would you like to use-"

The door to the house was practically blown off the hinges, it made a loud bang as it slammed into the wall interupting Mrs. Weasley's question and making the woman squeel in fear.

"Remus!" Mrs. Weasley yelled just a second after Hermione recognized him under the layer of blood that was splattered across his face. With a wave of a wand the door closed behind the werewolf just before everyone had ran across the room to where he had collapsed on the floor.

Hermione was peering over Ginny's shoulder down at the Order member that was in the center of the circle they had created, though they gave some space. Harry was crouched next to Remus while Molly started casting spells to stop the bleeding from numerous gashes that were focused along his arms, obviously he had used them to defend the rest of his body as there was only a few places along his robes that had cuts along them, blood staining the clothing.

"What happened?" She could hear Harry ask after casting a spell to keep the man from blacking out. It wouldn't do for him to go into a coma.

"Give him a moment Harry." Arthur said who was just on the edge of the circle as to not overwhelm his friend.

A few minutes passed before Remus had gotten to a state where he could speak again and wasn't about to pass out from blood loss or otherwise. "Was recruiting for the Order. I had just spoken with the Walgonn's, a half-blood family that said they would join. After leaving their home I came across some suspicious activity that had Death Eaters written all over it and went to investigate-nothing big, just a little recon mission. I only managed to see a group of them apparate away-"

Remus coughed and Harry leaned over, "Nevermind that. Who did this to you?" Hermione just saw a flash of her friend's face twisted in anger. It was obvious that Remus's self imposed recon mission had gone wrong and he didn't seem to care about the details-he just wanted revenge.

Which she could understand. Remus coughed again before resuming speaking after glancing at everyone that had more or less gathered around him. "Barty Crouch. I went into the room to investigate what the Death Eaters had been doing and he-" His words buzzed to the back of Hermione's mind though, it had begun the moment he said the name.

There was a sick feeling in the back of her throat and it was slowly crawling up. Her stomach felt sick, she felt- "Excuse me." She managed to huff out before running to the bathroom, shoving the door open to turn and throw up in the sink as she could tell she wouldn't be able to make it any further before her dinner came back up. At that moment she was seriously regretting the amount of food she had eaten earlier.

She could hear a flurry of footsteps behind her just before she caught sight of Ginny in the mirror when she glanced up. Her gaze traveled back down a moment later as she retched again. "Here." A pair of hands grabbed her hair and pulled it away from her face.

It took almost a minute later till she was able to thank Ginny who handed her a cloth towel. Grabbing it Hermione cleaned the skin around her mouth spitting into the sink every once and awhile to try and get rid of the acidic tang that was left in her mouth.

The taste just served to reinforce the growing sick feeling in her stomach. "You okay?' Hermione nodded to Ginny's question even though she was far from it.

Barty had done that to Remus. It didn't surprise her, but now that she was married to him she almost felt responsible. He had left the house in a rage-which she was sure had something to do with her-to do whatever Death Eater work that ended up involving entering into a duel with Remus later on.

Though in her mind that still wasn't the worst of it. The bloody-stupid-allows-itself-to-be-manipulated Ministry had gotten her married off to the monster and wanted her to procreate with a person like that of all things. Again she was aking herself the question of why she was stuck with him, why the Death Eaters chose to put her through this out of everyone else. Her mind could come to the quick conclusion that she fitted the age range and was Harry's best friend, not to mention went to school and was around him most of the time.

All of it was making her queasy. She didn't want to think of how and what spells had caused the damage to Remus but she found herself guessing on auto-pilot. She didn't want to think about bringing another monster into the world within the next three years either. It's just that she couldn't stop the thoughts-

"How could the Ministry have let this happen!" Harry's outraged scream shattered her thoughts and for a moment she felt pure bliss for not having to deal with it before wondering why Harry was angry. Looking to the door she could see Ginny hurrying back out of the bathroom to see what was up, Hermione followed slowly gut twisting. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

"The Ministry didn't do this." Arthur was saying, trying to get him to calm down, but with one quick glance around the room it clearly wasn't just Harry that was angry and would take the father awhile to get everyone to calm back down.

"They let him out of Azkaban and because of that Remus was injured!" Her gut twisted harder. "There's no way he actually ever took some tests to determine he wasn't guilty! I saw him in the office after the Tri-Wizard Tournament and he confessed to me that he did everything to make sure I would be in that graveyard. He was overjoyed about Voldemort being back-"

"Don't say his name!" Molly shrieked though her cry was swallowed by Harry's yells barely a second after.

"-Dumbledore had Snape used a potion to make him tell the truth! If they did that at the Ministry they would know he's guilty and never have released him! Voldemort and his Death Eaters sprang him from Azkaba-"

Hermione clapped her hands over her ears, squeezing her eyes shut to try and drown out what she had suspected all along. She did not want to listen this, not now, not ever. "I'll see you later Gin, I don't think staying here is good for my health." she muttered quickly to her friend beside her. Without checking that she was heard or even understood for that matter as Ron started yelling his agreements with Harry she grabbed some floo powder and disapeared from the fireplace moments later.


	7. Chapter 7

The ground stung her feet with each blow as she ran down a passage. A passage she didn't recognize, shadows curling along the stone that kept shifting and changing beneath it; black and white, a dark blue, fancy masonry, red so dark it resembled blood...

A cry uttered from her lips as she ran. She couldn't be too late. She had to stop him.

Voices cut through the air but she couldn't distinguish any of the words and the closer she got to the room the softer they became until it was just whispers weaving deliberately away from her ears. A series of loud snaps threw her off and she came to a screeching halt, eyes wide, mouth open as she sucked in breath after breath after running for so long she was sure her feet were bleeding.

There was a scream that practically split her ears, it sent her back into motion. "No, no, no." She hissed as she moved through the arch way eyes landing on the bleeding body of Remus in the middle of the room. The ground below him had wisps of shadow clinging to it, changing form just like the walls. The whole room was covered with it so that it took her a moment to notice her target standing over the member of the Order of the Phoenix.

His long black coat had at first looked like an extension of the darkness and his face had been shadowed by the hood, but the moment she focused on him his features came into alignment.

"Stop!" she screamed, the word echoing back at her an instant later. There was no way it could have rebounded so fast, there was no way he could have heard it. Her thoughts were only confirmed when a scream tore through the room. "Barty!" Running quickly around the form on the floor to reach his side she grabbed at the arm holding the wand that was launching curse after curse down at the occupied section of floor. "Stop it! Please, stop it!"

No matter how much she tugged at his arm it didn't move, staying centered when she tried to push the wand away. Turning her head she expected to see the werewolf lying there but instead it was Ron on the floor bleeding out. She whipped her head around, tears stinging at her eyes she slowly turned back to see Harry had taken the red head's place.

Her cheeks were growing hot from the trails running down it, moving down to her chin to fall and hit the ground below only to become consumed by the shadows. Twisting her grip repeatedly to try and get him to stop inflicting pain on her friends she screamed,

_"No!"_

With a start Hermione awoke; flying up from the bed, her breath coming fast, covered in sweat even though her body felt cold beneath it. She stayed there for a minute, her form obscured from view by the curtains pulled around her bed. Slowly her arms moved up from her sides to wrap around her upper body as a tremble went through her. Her heart was still pounding fast in her chest even as the dream started to slip away. Curling her legs up she rested her forehead on her knees until it finally fell away into oblivion, though she remembered what it had been about and it sent a chill down her spine.

It was unforgiveable. Even if it was just one of the people she knew. She had to figure out a way to get out of this marriage, to stop the sick feeling in her stomach. And yet, her mind was drawing a blank.

It was telling her no. The law may apply to her but it's punishments did not. There would be no going to Azkaban, no escaping it. Hands raised and fingers curled into her hair. She already knew that though. She had tried and it hadn't worked. Not yet anyways. Maybe if she thought it over again she would be able to come up with something.

She gave a nod of her head to reassure herself before letting go of the strands of her hair to settle her hands back down onto the blankets and moving her legs down so she was sitting criss-cross on the bed.

Hearing the sounds of rustling around her as the other girls in the dorm room started to get up she waited until she was breathing normally again until she pulled back the curtain to grab her robes and get dressed, then head down to the Great Hall.

This time she ate remarkably less than the other day. One because she wasn't as hungry, two she didn't care to throw it all up later. She remained silent as she rolled a piece of egg around her plate just listening to her friends idle chatter.

"-if the hallways weren't a place to dicuss this what makes a place filled with people eating any better?" Ginny was asking, effectively cutting into Ron and Harry's conversation on the events of yesterday.

"Because the people eating and talking around us make it more difficult for others to hear, learned that back in fifth year. Remember Hermione?" she just nodded absently at Ron's words. "Besides, this is important. Why else would the-"

"Ahem." Ginny mimicked Umbridge's little noise from last year.

"Why else would _they_ leave someone behind to make sure no one was listening in or snooping around afterwards? We know he found something or else he wouldn't have been attacked. He said himself he wasn't able to get a better look at the object before he was hit with the curse."

"He'll remember more once he's fully recovered." She could hear Harry's fork clash angrily with the plate as he spoke, spearing whatever food onto the utensil while probably scraping the silverware as well.

"Hey mate, he will recover. The doctor at Saint Mugos said it would just take a few days but that he wasn't in critical condition or in any danger."

"Yes, but he's getting treated at Saint Mugos which is open to the public and the Daily Prophet is saying Barty isn't guilty. He could waltz right in and finish the job."

"I don't think a convicted Death Eater like Barty knows how to waltz." There was a series of short laughter before Hermione felt an elbow prod at her side. "Get it?"

Raising her head she glanced to Ron before sighing and looking back to her food. She didn't care to get involved in the current conversation when she had left early to avoid listening to anything else pertaining to Barty or Remus in the first place. The fact that they were joking about him so easily also unnerved her. If he wasn't her husband, if she hadn't gone to the Ministry just days ago she probably would have laughed with them. As it was she remained silent, scooping up eggs onto her fork before sticking the food in her mouth as a way to avoid talking to them.

"What did I say?"

"Are you still not feeling well?" She gave a nod at Ginny's question, not bothering to answer Ron. "You should go see Madam Pomfrey, she could give you a potion for whatever you've caught." She gave another nod even though she didn't see a reason to when she wasn't actually sick. "Mom is speaking to Fred and George about their wedding and contacting Katie and Angelina's parents to collaborate. What about you Hermione?"

"Huh?" She hadn't really been listening when Ginny had clearly begun speaking to Harry and Ron again.

"Aren't your parents trying to plan your wedding?"

It took her a moment to realize what she was talking about considering her wedding had already happened. Great, another thing she would have to deal with later was telling them she was already married. Right now wasn't the time though. When the ruse between her and Blaise was over she would, but not now. "Uh, no. I haven't had the chance to tell them about what's been happening in the Wizarding World. Sending a letter would have just given them a heart attack."

"Well today is Friday, you could spend all weekend trying to explain it to them."

"Yeah-or no." she said while remembering that she was spending all weekend with Barty. Joy. She cringed inwardly. Which meant she would only have today to try and tell her parents what she could. At Ginny's questioning gaze she quickly explained, "I'm spending it with Blaise. To get to know eachother better. I'm busy most of the week and he agreed that that would work best for him as well."

"Oh, sounds like the two of you are already getting along. Perhaps that conspiracy theory Fred and George were going on about isn't true." Ginny was rolling her eyes at the last bit, a clear sign she didn't buy it. Neither did Hermione and she gave a little smile as her agreement with the other Gryfindor.

"So the Ministry is right in putting you together with a Slytherin?" Ron asked making Hermione grind her teeth together.

"Don't start with that again Ronald." she said and stood up grabbing her bag as she did so. "Come on, we have class."

She kept going over in her head how to phrase the words she would need to say to her parents in every class. She didn't want to full on lie to them but she couldn't just say the complete truth either. Coming up with a way to balance out the two was difficult though and it was steadily distracting her from class. Her quil hand had relentlessly made notes on it's own though as it had become a habit over th years. She hardly needed to think about it anymore and since she wasn't entirely focusing she would just end up with what the Professor said word for word rather than her own little notes sprinkled in with the rest.

After the last class she made her way to McGonagall's room leaving the message of telling the Professor where she went to the others. The door was already open with a note to any student that wanted to use the fireplace. Her eyes skimmed over the words saying that all students needed to be back before classes started on Monday as she stepped over the threshold and made her way to the fireplace to be swallowed by green flames moments later after saying her destination.

Instead of appearing in a fireplace that would have been to small she was on the doorstep to her house-or rather her parents. With her marriage to Barty technically his house was hers.

She reached into her pocket to grab the key, fingers brushing over the black silk box she hadn't bothered to move from her robes. It was the only thing Barty had given her that didn't hurt or was used to bring her to him every weekend. Besides, she liked the feel of it on her fingers, it was soft and she could probably find something to put inside the box eventually.

Turning the key into the lock she pushed open the door calling out as she walked inside, "Mum? Dad?"

"Hermione?" A surprised voice sounded from the kitchen area as she shut the door behind her. Her mother appeared in the living room a second later, spatula in hand with a red sauce slowly moving its way down threatening to spill onto the carpet. "Hi honey! Why are you not at school?"

"Well I-umm, Mum?" Hermione pointed to the kitchen utensil were a thick glob had gathered and was barely a second away from falling.

At her prompting her mother turned and quickly moved a hand beneath to catch it before looking over at her. "Why don't you come into the kitchen and we can talk while I cook."

With a nod of her head she followed her mother in to the kitchen, watching the woman go to the stove and start stirring some homemade sauce. "Is Dad home?" she asked while pulling out a chair and sitting in it.

"Your father is at a meeting about some new upgraded equipment and the company that makes it across town. He won't be back 'till Sunday." For a moment she was unsure how to take the news that her father was away. Both her parents were bound to flip out when she told them, maybe this would be easier with only one. "So what did you come here for? Not that I'm not happy to see you, but you've never showed up like this before during school." The words were said in the quick universal mother ramble causing Hermione to grin slightly.

"Just to talk." she paused for a moment to figure out the wording that was starting to slip away now that she was actually here. "There's been some changes going on in the Wizarding World the last few days. One change, actually. It's a law and it effects me because I'm seventeen and therefore meet the age requirement of the law that everyone from seventeen to fourty have to take part in it. Well, most of them."

The mention of law clearly caught her mother's attention as she turned around to look at Hermione instead of the stove where her hand was still idly stirring some spaghetti around in another pot. "A law? What are they making you do?"

She had to catch herself from saying who though she still corrected it in her head. "The Ministry..." she sighed. "It has come to the Ministry's attention that the Pure-Blood families are having more squibs-people born of wizards and witches without the ability to use magic-and because of this they have made a," she hesistated for a moment, before deciding not to say it outright and try to have a chance to explain before her mother worked it out from the explanation. "-a law. They call it the, Higher Conception Matrimony Law. They use a ritual to pair people together and they have to marry within four months and then procreate within three years."

"WHAT?" She winced when her mother screamed like a banshee. Apparently she had put it together faster than Hermione initally thought she would. She had been hoping it would take an extra second to sink in, but nothing got past her mother. "There making you marry even though your so young?" The food was left forgotten on the stove now as her mom stared intently at her.

"Well in medieval ages woman were married even-" She tried to defend the Ministry-not entirely sure why she was doing so as the words just seemed to slip from her mouth.

"This is not the medieval ages! I know the Wizarding World is a bit in the past when it comes to things but this is just ridiculous! They want you to have a baby because some Pure-Blood families aren't having magical children?"

"The wizarding population in Britain has steadily been going down for years as well. They're trying to boost the overall population."

"That's no excuse for making a child have a child! I'm sure there are plenty of adults capable of having a child! And what's this about them using a ritual to 'pair people together?'"

"I only know what the Daily Prophet said about the ritual because the information about it was leaked. The ritual matches those with compatible personalities, physical attraction, among other things that were not listed." In most cases anyway.

"And this system works?" Her mother sounded skeptical.

"Well, Fred and George's matches were the women they were going out with." Hermione supplied wanting to get past the law part of the conversation as it wasn't entirely what she had wanted to say, or rather not the most important aspect of it. "So yes, it works."

Her mother still didn't look convinced but she had calmed down somewhat. "What about you?"

"I wasn't going out with anyone. From the rumors I have heard around school not everyone was matched with someone they were dating. Also heard one of those girls say that she hadn't believed it would have worked out with the person she had been dating anyways."

"No, no, not that." The words were said quickly. "Who's your match suppose to be?"

It seemed she had finally reached that part in the conversation. She hadn't told a lie to her mom yet and she didn't want to. Hermione took in a breath rationalizing in her mind that she couldn't just outright say his name since it was likely her parents would speak with the Weasely's eventually. That they would be invited by Mrs. Weasely to the twins weddings. She wouldn't be able to say his name because of that. "He's a Pure-Blood-"

"From one of those families you mentioned before?"

"Yes."

"Which House is he in at your school? Is he nice? What's this boy like?"

"He-I-Slytherin," she settled on it because it was what Blaise was in and she didn't know which House Barty had been in anyways. It would just cause problems if Houses got brought up and her mother said the wrong one. "but he's never bullied me or anyone else I know." Which was true for the one year he was at the school, in the technical sense of the word bully. Her mother referring to Barty as a boy was odd to hear but she just had to go with it. "I haven't really had the chance to get to know him yet. The law is only a few days old." From the expression on her mother's face she wasn't going to take that as an excuse and Hermione hurried to say something about him, the man she actually married. "He's intelligent, talented in many forms of magic, go-has high marks in every class," she had been about to talk about his stay at Hogwarts in the past tense but was quick to cover it. Her mother hadn't seemed to notice the slip or just thought it was nerves. "very loyal to his friends, good at planning, cunning, charming when he wants to be." She finally took the time to breath after listing everything she could think of.

"For someone that just said you don't really know him that was quite a lot. He sounds nice." Hermione blinked, having not expected that response as she so far hadn't found him to be very nice. "I still don't care for you marrying him at such a young age, but it sounds like you like him so far. I also don't want you having children at your age-"

"Mum, it's the law to have a child within the first three years of marriage."

"I don't care about the damn law! It's okay if you like him and marry him but I don't see a single reason why you have to have a child so early on. You have your whole life ahead of you, it shouldn't be cut short just because some law says-"

"Mum!" She had to shout to catch her mother's attention and was glared at a moment later for having interupted her.

"I taught you better manners than that-"

"Mum, it's the law. Anyone that goes against it gets thrown into Azkaban."

"Azkaban?"

"Wizard's prison, patrolled by creatures known as Dementors that suck all the happiness from people."

"They would throw you into Azkaban if you didn't have children for some stupid law?" Outrage was pouring into her mother's voice once again. "The Wizarding Society really is backwards with the times!"

"Mu-" Hermione stopped herself realizing it was futile and just pushed the words of her mother from her mind as she stood up from the chair and walked out of the kitchen.

Footsteps followed her quickly after into the living room. As she made her way to the door to leave her mother yelled loudly so that it cut through the fog she had been developing in her mind to drown it all out. "I'm not going to let you go back to that place if this is what they do to their citizens!"

She stopped in her tracks for a moment before whirling around and shouting right on back, "I'm already married!" the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. Seeing her mom just standing there staring at her daughter in clear shock Hermione turned quickly, throwing open the door when she stormed out and hurried down the sidewalk to get away from the house.

Soon enough she was out of the neighborhood and her pace slowed as she walked ignoring the stares she got for her weird clothes. She couldn't believe she had just done that after going through the pains of making sure not to say anything about her marriage and rather avoid the topic all together. It had just been so frustrating though. Her mother simply hadn't been allowing her to explain and she just hadn't been able to hold it back.

She couldn't go to Azkaban, that option didn't apply to her. While she wouldn't have been able to tell her mother that incase it got around somehow she had wanted to explain the three major ways one would get sent to Azkaban according to the law. To make her understand that it was just something everyone was going to be put through and that there wasn't a way around it. Also because she knew she had to let her parents know about it. She just wished it had gone better.

Finally coming out from her thoughts she looked around her to see where she had walked to and realized she was deep within the city. With a sigh she walked up to a map for a bus stop system to figure out where exactly she was then made the long trek to The Leaky Cauldron.

She only stayed on the ground floor long enough to pay for a room and get the key to it before withdrawing up the stairs to find the appropriate numbered door then slip inside. Closing it behind her she slipped to the ground with her back lying against it as she stared around the room.

Her eyes landed on the clock that said it was just a few minutes past midnight. She let out a breath at seeing the time. That meant she barely had five hours left before the portkey-or rather keys-activated and took her to Barty.

It took her a moment but she pushed herself up from the ground and went over to the bed to lay ontop of the covers and get some sleep as exhaustion from the day hit her.The sensation of spinning around is what brought her out from her sleep. Her stomach turned when she opened her eyes to see a blur of grey passing before her eyes right before the world snapped back into place. She found herself lying on the bottom of the fireplace, the dark dust-covered grate open, seeming to frame the living room and kitchen area that was highlighted by a single strip of gray morning light.

There was something wriggling in her robe, trapped by her hand that had landed on the fold of cloth. She raised it to see her wand slip out from her robes and away, moving to the window where the bench closed the moment the wand was within. She blinked when an object on it seemed to glow, circular shaped, keeping the bench closed. A lock.

A rush of anger went through her, pushing herself up she walked quickly for the hallway that was right across from where the fireplace was. Turning the corner sharply she continued to the end of the hall where his door was, currently closed. Her hand curled into a fist at her side and she raised it quickly to slam against the dark wood.

Before she could even call his name the door was yanked open to reveal Barty standing there looking down at her. "It's a bit early in the morning-"

"How dare you!" She screamed before he could finish the sentance and hit him in the chest though he hardly looked as if he had felt it. "You take the most important choice in my life away from me! You lock my wand up! You rape me! And then you dare to hurt my friends? You may be able to hurt me as much as you want but don't touch my friends! What the hell did Remus do to deserve what you did to him?"

His face had been still as stone up until she mentioned Remus, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "You saw Remus?"

"Not only him! What you did to him! The scars..." a sob broke though her words, "the blood. Wh-Hey!" She let out a shout when his hand clamped down on her wrist and he started walking past her into the hall, dragging her along. "Let go of me!" Hermione snapped while tugging on her arm to no avail. Her feet were slipping on the wood floor, forcing her to walk with him so she didn't fall over.

"What did he say?" She was yanked to a stop and his other hand had moved to grab her chin to make her look at him.

"What? Why does it matter what he said? You hurt him!"

"I'm a Death Eater, he's part of the Order and was snooping around where he shouldn't have been. Now, what did he tell you?"

She narrowed her own eyes back at him. "He told me that you were the one that attacked him! And I don't see how anything else is more important than that!"

The grip on her chin had tightened to the point that she couldn't move her mouth to continue yelling at him. "I do, and you will tell me what I want to know." With the grip released now as he reached for the door knob of one she hadn't been able to open before she shifted her jaw slightly. It had started to hurt from the way he had gripped her and applied force to it. She was tugged forward when the door started to open and opened her mouth to snap at him again only to gape at the room behind him that was now viewable to her.

Her breath started to come fast as her eyes scanned over the shapes she could see as there was no light inside. "What are you doing?" From the grin that she recieved she knew it couldn't be good. "Barty?" she started tugging at her arm again when he began moving deeper into the dark room, eyes snapping around the rather threatening looking shapes within.

He tugged right on back, forcing her to follow him inside. "You sure you don't want to tell me right now?"

"I don't have anything else to say to you! Now let me go!"

She could just see the outline of his shoulder shrug at her words. "Not yet." His hand was waved back at her-no the door she realized as she heard it close behind her thrusting the room into a state of pitch black. "Come on." his voice had suddenly dropped to a more angry tone and she stumbled after him when her arm was tugged on.

"What-" she had begun to repeat her question from before when she felt herself pulled infront of him, heard a familiar clang echo in her ears, felt metal clasp around her wrists when each arm was raised. They weren't together though and she was still standing, not sure yet if those little facts were a good or bad thing. Hearing his footsteps moving away she craned her neck to try and follow the sound, but she couldn't see him anyways so stopped trying to. "Barty? What are you doing?"

"You'll know in a moment sweetheart." She bit at her lip, not liking the tone of voice he had used or that he was calling her sweetheart all of the sudden. Light suddenly seemed to flicker into the room. A more natural light then one from a bulb. The crackle of flames let her know he had lit a fire. The one thing that troubled her was that all she could see from where she was was a large empty room. Well, not entirely empty from what she could see, there was a large metal looking box in one corner, but that was it. All the other shapes of things she had seen in the dark had to be behind her.

A clang of metal on stone reached her ears and her breath hitched for a moment, when it didn't come again she relaxed as her mind tried to rationalize what he was doing back there. Minutes passed by and he still hadn't said anything, and she... she simply didn't bother. She doubted that he would give her a straight answer, if he bothered to answer at all.

A light scraping of metal across stone caught her attention and she could hear his footsteps coming back toward her. There was a whisper of words she didn't quite catch and her clothes had disapeared by the end of it. She could actually see her school robes along with socks, shoes, and other clothes neatly stacked near the doorway. It was cold in the early morning and she shivered without anything to fight off the cold.

"Now I want you to keep still or else this won't come out right." His breath moving over her shoulder let her know where he was, but she still couldn't see him which sent a surge of panic through her.

She opened her mouth initially to ask what wouldn't come out right if she moved to cut herself off when a scream tore it's way up her throat. Something hot had just been applied to her left side and it was searing into her flesh. She turned to try and twist away but whatever it was just seemed to follow her, staying on her skin the whole time. It was burning, she could smell it, her own skin peeling away. She gasped in air only to have the taste in her mouth before unleashing another scream. The chains rattled above her to join in with her screams.

When it-whatever it was-was finally pulled away she was left gasping, her throat sore from screaming for what felt like an eternity. Fingers were soon pressing around the skin that had been affected and she whimpered at his touch. "Edges aren't as clear cut as I would have liked, but it came out better than I thought it would with all your struggling." There was a short chuckle. "I thought I told you to stay still, Hermione."

Taking in a breath it took her a few seconds before she could speak. "You never told me you were going to do that." her voice shook with each word.

"Would it have made a difference if I had?" There was a long silence in which she didn't respond. No, she doubted it would have made a difference. His breath was running along her ear when he spoke, "Are you willing to speak now?"

Her heart pounded at the words and if he was within sight she would have glared. So that's what this was about. He wanted to know what Remus had told the Order about what had been seen where the Death Eaters had been, what they were up to. He wanted to know how much the Order knew. It must have been an important meeting. Her lips twisted up into a smile. "I don't know anything."

For a moment all she could feel was the repeated press of his breath on her ear. The next thing she knew his fingers were wrapped around her throat raising her so she was forced to stand on her tiptoes. "You're lying to me." He rasped.

She whimpered around the fingers clasped around her throat the sound even more pathetic in her ears because it didn't seem to come out properly with her airway being pressed upon.

"Hermione, dear," she tried to let out a sob but she found it impossible to do so. "for a marriage to work you have to be honest, and you're not doing that. So how do you expect it to work when you're not doing everything you can to make it work? I asked you a question, all you have to do is answer it truthfully."

His hand left her throat and she gasped for air, knees giving out so they were half curled beneath her, leaving her hanging by the chains wrapped around her wrists that were now cutting into the skin again. Once she was sure her voice wouldn't falter she spoke, "I don't think a marriage constitutes the right for you to torture your own wife."

There was a sharp laugh above her and she winced at the sound. "Oh Hermione, you should have answered the question." His footsteps going back away made her turn and twist her head to see the outline of a fire in a stone hearth. That would explain the sound of stone and metal she had heard before. She still couldn't see what he was doing but she heard it again and bit at her lip before turning her head quickly wondering if he had caught her trying to look.

It took the same amount of time before he was walking back to her, though she heard him place an object along the stone again before she heard the steps on the floor.

"Lets try this again."

The moment the hot metal was pressed to a spot just below the first one she screamed. The chains echoing her cries above her. She couldn't move as much this time with her knees bended beneath her and each time she tried to rise to her feet the preassure on her side pressed even harder sending out a wave of pain from the spot.

Hermione was left gasping when he took it away and fully expecting for him to continue to ask her to answer his question. When he didn't and she just heard his steps echoing around the room, a splash then hiss as the metal previously on her skin was dropped into a bucket of water. It sent her heart hammering in her chest. Another clang on stone, the steps coming back to her. Her mind quickly put it all together. Knowing what was coming she bit at her lip but the screams still came when the metal was pressed lower along her skin.

She felt the burning pain along her flesh three more times before it stopped. When there wasn't another clang on stone she knew when it was the last one. She had pressed her head along one of her extended arms breathing slowly in and out, trying to catch her breath as he hadn't given her much of a break inbetween them after the first one.

Finally though he walked infront of her, and her gaze flickered up to meet his, the exact moment their eyes met he started to talk. "You seem to be under the impression that you're a Granger. So I'm going to clear it up for you. The moment you were married to me you were made a Crouch. A family that is a part of the Death Eaters, not your Order of the Phoenix. A family that is suppose to be loyal to its own. Except you're not being very loyal right now are you?" She just breathed out in response watching as his expression turned into a twisted grin. With a wave of his hand a mirror was formed in thin air. "Maybe you need to see what you are to believe it."

At first she didn't understand what he was saying. As the mirror turned slowly to her left her eyes followed it and she cried out when she could finally see what he had done to her side, the image reflected back at her. It was burned right into her skin, branded. The name Crouch written vertically, the skin at the edges cracked, little traces of red from blood along the side of the letters. "Stop it! Make it go away!" She cried, not wanting to see it. Hermione already tried to avoid remembering she was married to him and now the truth was burned right into her skin. Turning her head away from the mirror she looked at him, tears stinging at her eyes threatening to spill over.

"I can, once you tell me everything you know." She started to shake her head to have her jaw gripped hard, stopping the movement. He was sitting infront of her now, level with her hanging body. "How did Remus know we were holding a meeting in that location?" his voice was suddenly soft and she let out a whimper. "Hermione." she could feel his hand move up from her jaw, cupping her cheek, thumb wiping across the skin just below her eye every other second, removing the tears that had begun to fall."He-he didn't." A sob broke between her words.

"Go on." The words were so soft she thought she had imagined them.

Fingers were pressing along the other side of her face now, moving gently across her skin and she found herself leaning into the touch, yearning for something that wouldn't bring pain. "It was a coincidence, he was just passing by after-" She cut herself off quickly and pulled her face away from his hands realizing he was playing games with her mind. "No." she said the single world firmly.

"After?" She shook her head at the question, she wasn't going to tell him anymore then she already had. She wouldn't be the one responsible for the death of a half-blood family. He seemed to wait a few more minutes but she never once opened her mouth. Issuing a sigh he stood back up. "Very well." After making the mirror disappear he looked back at her. "Stand up Hermione." She didn't move knowing he wasn't just going to give up on getting the information after what he put her though. "I said," moving forward his hands wrapped around her upper arms. "Stand the bloody hell up!"

Hermione cringed when he dragged her up to her feet. His sudden yell sent fear pouring to every centimeter of her body. Barty had never yelled at her like that before, granted she hadn't been married to him for very long. Still, she could tell that she had pissed him off. Watching as he walked past her and hearing him coming back barely a second later.

"I'll give you one piece of advice. Stay standing, or there will be consequences."

She expected him to stay where she couldn't see him, so when he walked around her to stand infront of her she was surprised. Even more so when she saw what was in his hands. It just looked like a handle, until he moved his other hand so she could see the individual strips of leather fall from inbetween his fingers. Hermione counted them silently. Nine. She took in a shaky breath, her eyes darted back up to him. "Don't. Please, Barty."

"After what?" She averted her eyes and bit into her lip. If she told him then a family would die, she didn't want that to happen. "Fine."

As she wasn't looking at him she only heard the whistle as the whip went through the air just before it striked her skin. It landed across her stomach, the strikes horizontal. She screamed, feeling each individual 'tail' dig into her flesh before it was retracted with a flick of his wrist. Blood was running freely down her torso in small rivlets as she held back a whimper in her throat.

"All you have to do to stop it is finish what you were going to say." She released the whimper from her throat but otherwise kept her mouth closed. The next strike came barely a second after, the same area, this time vertical so it cut over the previous wounds. She screamed again, feeling her knees start to buckle beneath her she pushed against the ground to stay standing remembering what he had said about there being consequences if she were to fall.

Biting at her lips she tried to keep her mouth shut only to scream with each strike that followed. After the sixth one her legs were trembling beneath her, more than threatening to collapse. She extended her fingers to wrap around the chains above her to help keep herself up.

When she wasn't striked within the usual second she glanced towards Barty even though she had been trying not to. He was tapping the handle slightly, eyes flickering over her body. She took in a breath, hoping he was going to stop now. When his eyes met hers though he smiled before lashing out with the whip again.

Her eyes went wide when it made contact with unmarked skin, the new cuts stinging when he pulled the whip back. Her grip on the chains had loosened and she was gasping for air between the small whimpers she kept letting out unable to control herself from making the sounds anymore. The whip fell across her chest again unleashing another scream from her as her hands let go of the chains and her legs fell beneath her so she was dangling from her wrists once more.

She could clearly see the disapproving look in Barty's eyes and started to struggle to get back up. Hermione barely got herself up a few inches before she fell back towards the ground, the manacles around her wrists digging into the skin again and again from her actions. Her breath was becoming frantic and she worked her fingers up to the chains, curling them around as she pushed herself up. She managed to get herself up a few extra inches before she fell back again to let out a whimper. Raising her head she looked back to him trying to ignore the warm feeling of blood running over her skin. She watched as he took a single step forward her breath hitching when he raised the whip again. Turning her head and closing her eyes she only listened to it's path through the air before feeling it.

Her scream ripped through the air but she hardly moved, the chains making minimal noise above her now that they were stretched to hold her up. Each strike felt like fire racing across her flesh before it was dragged away again only to criss-cross over those same scars seconds later. He kept switching the areas that were striked randomly. Not that it would matter even if she could predict where he was going to hit next.

Her throat was raw from screaming so much that she had fallen back to just whimpering for now because it hurt to much to scream. Well, she thought it had. The whip landed on her shoulder and she screamed a single word, "Recruiting!"

The whip that had been moving back to strike again stopped immediately. "What?" He sounded outraged and she let out another whimper. There was a dull thump as the whip hit the ground from when he dropped it. She could hear him moving the last few steps toward her and felt his hands on her face again, fingers brushing across her tear-stained skin. "Who did he recruit? Tell me, Hermione and I'll make all the pain go away."

If she could have slapped her hand to her mouth she would have, as it was she just stared at the cold hard stone floor beneath her. Slowly she raised her head at the prospect of the stinging along her skin and the fresh blood that came from her shoulder wound running down her arm stopping. "Promise?" she murmured, feeling fresh tears running down her face.

His fingers were quick to wipe them from her skin. "Yes. Who?"

She bit at her lip but the sob still escaped her. "The Walgonn's, a half-blood family." Blinking more tears ran down her face. "Please, Barty, please make it stop." she murmured just before her vision went black.


	8. Chapter 8

The first thing she was aware of when she woke up was that she felt warm, mostly anyways. Something cold was pressed to her forehead.

It took her a moment but she opened her eyes slowly as she remembered what had happened before she blacked out. The name marked into her skin, the numerous cuts running along the front of her body. Her breath got heavy as she recalled what she had said to stop it.

A whimper passed through her lips, already feeling her eyes growing hot as fresh tears gathered there. Her body shivered and she felt rather cold now. She had condemed the whole family to death. She wasn't entirely sure when their deaths would take place since Barty had to stay in the house, it was the simple fact that they were going to die because of her that made the first tear fall.

Hermione didn't bother to hold back her sobs as her whole body shook with the realization of what she had done. All because the pain had gotten to be to much. Her cheeks quickly grew hot as she cried. She should have been able to take more of it until he gave up. If he would have given up, she wasn't sure he would have. Most likely she would have been pushed even further through whatever torture means he deemed necessary.

She should have just told him that Remus had seen an object rather than give up the family. It had just fallen from her lips though and she hadn't been able to take it back, and he had pressed for the information continously. Information that was most bloody likely more important than what Remus had saw. She wished she hadn't ever said what Remus was doing beforehand. That he hadn't asked the question of how he knew where the meeting was held. She wished she was better at lying. That-

"Hermione," she shrieked when she heard his voice, to have a hand clamp over her mouth a moment later. _"shhh,"_ her gaze landed on him, sitting barely a foot away from her. She could have sworn he wasn't there a moment ago. That he wasn't even in the same room. Her crying must have covered up the sound of his footsteps, it was the only thing she could think of. It-her gaze landed behind him. Her eyes quickly widening when she recognized the animal skulls placed along the top of the drawer. She was in his room. The one he had told her to leave days ago. She let out a whimper beneath his palm. "quiet." his voice was soft when he spoke and it made her even more terrified. Nothing good had ever come with that tone.

Her teeth were drawing into her lip as she tried to quiet herself, not wanting him to put her though another one of his interogations. Feeling the hand lower till it was just a single finger pressed to her lips a sob broke out and she winced at the sound. "Don't." the word slipped out from her lips and her body tensed a moment later fully expecting to hear the sharp crack of the whip again.

Instead the hand raised to remove something warm from her forehead and she followed the movement with her eyes to see what it was. A damp looking cloth that smelled of sweat when she took in a breath. The whole air around her seemed to smell of it. It was nauseating. She watched with a shaky breath as he dropped it into a bucket with a splash, pulling it back up a moment later, refolding it before resting the cloth back on her forehead. Hermione let out a sigh of relief when the cool feel of it fell onto her hot skin. "What was it this time?"

She glanced at him, confusion clear in her gaze and tone when she was able to shakily ask, "What?" Her voice somehow sounded... wrong in her ears. It took her a moment but she realized it had sounded the same way with the first word she had spoken. Thick, heavy in her mouth. Her throat felt constrained and she swallowed to try and lighten the feel but it just made it feel even more dry.

"You had another nightmare, didn't you?" She could feel his fingers pressing just above the cloth into her hair, moving slowly against her scalp as she stared at him, still confused.

Nightmare?

Little fleeting moments of waking up in a similar state suddenly assaulted her mind. There were foggy and brief but she could still make out little bits.

_She was screaming when she opened her eyes, heart pounding in her chest, still feeling a lash of hot leather across her wrist. Yet when she looked down to her hand there was no scar on the skin._

_Her name being whispered to her repeatedly through her volley of shouts. Ears having rung from both that and from the feel of them being cut off her skin. Though they were still connected to her, whole. A voice kept reasurring her of that fact._

_Shaking like mad in a cool winter breeze that didn't yet exist as it was still fall. Calling out for Barty. The feel of a thick woolen blanket falling over her body._

_Legs kicking beneath the sheets, running away from an invisible enemy. The skin at the bottom of her feet feeling cracked and bleeding from numerous sharp rocks. Muttering about escaping from some place until she fell back into oblivion._

A small gasp escaped her from the memories, though she quickly recalled his question. "I-I don't remember." She wasn't entirely sure what had woken her up.

"Go back to sleep." The softness of his voice along with the already heavy feel of her eyelids was prompting her to do as he said.

Though when he started to get up her hands flung out to grasp at the closest arm to her. "Stay." The thought of being left alone somehow terrified her at that moment. It must have shown in her eyes as he sat back down. When his other hand rose and started to remove her hands from his arm her grip tightened quickly unsure of what he was doing. "Please, don't leave me in the dark place Barty." As she said those words she knew what had woken her.

_She was cold to the bone. The snow battering at her bare body as she dragged her feet over ice, just moving forward endlessly. Unable to see because it was dark, the snow relentlessly pushing her backwards. It made her slip and fall. Pushing herself up only for it to continue in an endless cycle. Not getting anywhere. Stuck in a dark cold place._

"You did have another nightmare." It was just a statement.

She nodded her head quickly, still clutching to his arm. "It's cold. Please don't go." Her voice was getting even scratchier as she spoke, slowly making it hard for herself to tell what she was saying.

There was a sigh next to her. "Open your mouth." She blinked before reluctantly opening her mouth in the hope that he wouldn't leave her there if she did. There was a brush of glass against her lower lip, then leaning against it until the water within fell into her open mouth, running cold down her throat. As she swallowed it down it got rid of the dry feeling though she moved her head slightly because of the cold feel of it until it was moved away, the contents most likely all gone. "Now go back to sleep."

"Are you going to leave?" Her grip on his arm had tightened even further, reluctant to let go.

"No. I'll be right here in this room."

That did reassure her somewhat but... "Stay with me. Not just the room." Seeing him about to speak again she quickly added. "Please. Please Barty." A tear slipped from her eye at the thought of being in that place again, all alone, wandering yet not getting anywhere, unsure of where she was going in the first place. It was like she had been going around in circles.

"Okay." This time when he went to remove her hands from his arm she complied. A slight panic in her chest when he got up only for it to go away when he simply went around to settle in the bed beside her. She turned on her side hands reaching out to clutch at his shirt as she buried her head into his chest. Feeling an arm drape over her body she relaxed, her eyelids dropping shortly after and she was asleep once more.

When she opened her eyes in what felt like barely a minute since she last closed them her body had curled in on itself. She was now lying on the opposite side of the bed soaking up the warmth of a body that had previously been there but was now absent. Looking slowly around the room she caught sight of him standing over a desk she had failed to notice before. There was no chair in sight, explaining why he was standing.

He was flipping through the pages of a book and she watched for awhile mesmerized by the simple turning of the pages. The flutter of sound the paper made.

When it suddenly stopped her gaze moved up to see he was looking back at her instead of the book now. "Hermione, you need to sleep or you won't get better."

"Get better." she repeated softly her gaze landing back on the book infront of him. "Get better from what?" She found herself wondering what he was reading as she couldn't make out any of the words from where she was.

"I've told you before, you're sick."

"Sick." She tried the word out on her tongue. "Sie-k. Sight. Sickle." A giggle passed from her lips. "How does one get a sickle?" It took her a moment to register that he had moved over to her as her gaze had landed on a cat's skull that was staring back at her. "Where's kitty's fur?"

"Do you need help sleeping again, Hermione?"

"The kitty-"

" _Hermione_." He was suddenly blocking her sight of it, standing directly infront of her, or rather crouched beside the bed. She gave a little smile at the word she had just thought up. "I need you to go back-"

"I told my mum about you." she interupted him, reaching out a hand to press a finger to his jaw.

"Pardon?"

"A day. Sunny day. Yesterday. Some day. Sundae with sprinkles on top." She released another giggle as her finger traced up. "Rough. Sounds like a dog's bark." Her hand went to move up further when a hand clamped around her wrist. She glanced from the stubble on his chin and up to his eyes. "I told her you were a snake. Are you a snake? Did you eat kitty's fur?"

"No, now go back to sleep. The fever is making you delusional. I need you to sleep, can you do that for me?"

"But I'm not!" She protested only to have a finger be pressed to her lips and she formed a pout a moment later. "It's not. I told her, I did." she mumbled against his skin.

"Yes, you told her. You told me you told her. Go to sleep Hermione, please."

"Pretty please? Because I'm pretty, and dainty." She opened her mouth just slightly more to touch her tongue against the finger that still hadn't moved from near her mouth. It retracted quickly and she frowned reaching out a hand to try and grab his finger to bring it back to her. "Mine."

" _Stop it_." Her hand froze in midair and she stared at him for a moment, having been startled by the sudden coldness in his tone. Moving her hand back she curled it beneath her lower lip staring at him. A small whimper rose from the back of her throat and she gave a little sniff when he leaned closer to her. His hand closed around hers moving it down and away from her bottom lip. Another one came and pushed at her lightly causing her to scramble backward on the bed until he gave a sharp tug on her wrist and she whimpered again. "Stay right here, got it? Just nod your head." She had started to part her lips to answer him but pressed them together, frowning at him. When he just kept looking at her without saying anything about the glare he was recieving she gave a small nod. "Good. Now close your eyes."

"I don't wanna sle-"

There was a sharp sound in the air from when his hand striked across her face, effectively silencing her. "You're going to wether you like it or not. I can force you to take a sleeping drought or you can just close your eyes and sleep yourself. Which is it going to be?"

"You're not charming. You're manipulative." she muttered with a whimper.

"Drought then." Soon there was a vial being pressed to her lips and she started to twist and turn her head only to have a hand press to her forehead to keep her still. Fingers pried open her mouth until a liquid was dribbling inside. She tried to spit it out but the hand at her mouth just closed her lips, clamping around her mouth until she was forced to swallow. Her struggling subsided as her vision went fuzzy watching as his form slipped away from the bedside and went back to the desk.

There was a whimper caught in her throat, fluttering about like a bird in a cage. Wings battering at the bars that didn't relent. She tried to open her mouth but it was as if it wasn't responding to her. A strangled noise was coming from her as she raised her hands to her throat.

Tried to. There was a preassure suddenly on both her wrists, forcing the hands next to eachother and to stay pinned down. "Calm down, Hermione." Another strangled noise came from her as she tried to wriggle her hands out from under his. She needed to break the lock on her throat to-There was a clang, the feel of metal around her wrists, her arms having been tugged up so they were above her head, resting on the top of the pillow. She twisted her head trying to crawl towards her twitching fingers.

An arm locked around her body though, keeping her in place. She released a sort of snarl in the back of her throat while arching her neck. Her fingers turned even more desperately in their restraints to try and reach it, curling downwards and making little swiping motions.

"Hermione," a brush of air over her neck made her tilt her head even more at the very slight preassure it created. She released a small gurgling noise in the back of her throat and could feel fingers on the skin second later. The whimper was crawling slowly up her throat with each light brush along her neck until it was finally released into the air. With the tighteness along her throat gone she slumped back down onto the cushions she lay ontop of. "There you go."

For a second she just gazed at the ceiling above her trying to recall what had closed her throat in the first place. "Barty?" her voice came out slow and she turned her head to see him lying on his side next to her in his robes.

"Yes?"

She could feel his fingers still on her neck, moving over the skin, applying a little preassure every once and awhile, tracing random shapes and figures, massaging the skin. Looking to his eyes she noticed that he wasn't looking back at her, but rather at her throat. "How come my dreams are never sweet?" she asked softly, rather liking the expression currently on his face and not wanting to shatter it.

He issued a sigh. "It seems I was to hard on you, and your wounds were exposed longer than I had planned. Your fever is finally coming down though, so you shouldn't be getting anymore nightmares like before."

"Fever?" she questioned.

"From your body fighting off the illness." She was on the verge of telling him she knew what a fever did when he continued, "You mentioned telling your mum about me. What sort of nightmare was that?"

Hermione was silent for a moment as she remembered what had happened back at her house, it all pretty much slammed back on her when she focused and she let out an exhale of surprise from it all. "That... it wasn't a nightmare." she spoke slowly as her gaze moved back to the ceiling, not even sure if she was awake now. It felt to surreal. That he wasn't glaring at her or yelling. Like a small piece of tranquility. "I went to my-their house," she corrected herself. "to tell them about the law rather than just mail the article from the Daily Prophet. Doing that would have just made them worry, among other things. My father was away on buisness so it was just my mum and me. She... overreacted when I tried to explain the law to her. Before that though, she asked who I got and what House you were in. I just said some things about you in general rather than by name; your talent in spell-casting, loyalty, little things like that. That you were in Slytherin."

She fell silent for a moment as a thought occured to her. "I arranged a... ruse of sorts with Blaise Zabini. His partner-from what I can tell-seems to not want to have it announced that they're engaged yet. So we agreed to be a sort of cover up for each other." A finger along her neck seemed to slow suddenly and she hurried to explain. "It's just... I... we..." she was finding it hard to come up with something until a finger was pressed to her lips.

"It's fine." Hearing the creak of the bed she turned her head to see him getting up from the bed.

"Barty-"

"Get some sleep Hermione." She blinked in confusion as she watched him head for the door and opened her mouth to ask where he was going only to stop when she thought she heard him say something. It was so soft she was sure she had imagined it. "I was in Ravenclaw." The door closed a moment later and she was sure it was just her head messing with her as her vision went fuzzy. She tipped her head back on the pillow wondering for a moment if she was having one of those dreams within a dream, if the fever could do something like that.

It felt like only an hour had passed when she opened her eyes to glance around the room expecting to see him somewhere yet after sweeping the place ten times she just sighed. As she went to settle her head back onto the pillow she stopped, her eyes glancing down.

She didn't know what she had expected; bandages wrapped around her torso maybe, scars barely healed over, traces of blood on the skin. What she was sure of was that she hadn't expected to see her skin looking... normal. Like it would be on any other day before the torture.

There wasn't a single mark on her, it looked as if the other day had never happened though she knew that wasn't true. She might have been a bit paler than before but that didn't really surprise her as she had been bedridden for however long. It couldn't have been to long though, she remembered waking up a lot of times, just not all the details that went with each of them. No trace of blood was on her skin either, even when she looked down at her legs she didn't find anything.

It took her a moment to realize that there wasn't a blanket anywhere over her body. Looking around the bed she quickly found a thick woolen blanket off to the side in a messy sort of rectangular ball shape. She was quickly able to surmise that she must have kicked it off sometime in her sleep, though she wondered which time she was asleep that that had happened.

With a sigh she moved her hand up to rest on her forehead to find that the usual towel she had grown acustomed to finding there was gone and that the skin wasn't blazing hot beneath her palm. It was just warm, and her hand felt cool against it. She didn't even feel like she had a fever anymore and suspected it was gone. It seemed to fast to her but then again with magic a fever wouldn't be too much to get rid of. He must have used a spell, potion, or combination of the two to help her body recover faster. She guessed he had used spells to close her wounds and clean the blood from her skin as well.

It made sense that he would anyway. It would be weird if she showed up sick at school after telling her friends she was spending the weekend with Blaise. They probably would have questioned him about it as well, and he wouldn't be able to answer or rather he would have been forced to come up with something. Like saying she caught some disease or something. Atleast this way both of them could avoid it, not that he would feel any sense of relief.

Hermione pushed herself up into a sitting position, checking the room once more, her eyes staying on the skull that looked like that of a cat a second longer than necessary. Hadn't she had... a dream about that same skull? Shaking her head she slipped off the side of the bed to stand slowly. Once she was sure she wasn't going to fall back to the bed she started across the floor, pulling the door open to walk out into the hall. Feeling a cold draft of air she wrapped her arms around herself as she walked, gaze flickering to the door that held chains and whatever other torturing implements were inside.

She swallowed down a nervous laugh that was crawling up her throat at seeing it and closed her eyes, turning her head away and only opening them again when she was sure she had passed the door so even if she looked from the corner of her eye she wouldn't see it. As she turned the corner she heard a light scratching of a quill on parchment and stopped in her tracks for a moment. If Barty was writing she probaby shouldn't disturb him. Taking a step forward the wood beneath her foot creaked causing her to jump slightly at the sudden noise. After waiting a moment in the silence she started walking again, reaching out a hand to grab for her door and twisting the knob as she pushed it open, blinking when the light came on.

When her eyes had adjusted she walked further in stopping short as she realized she hadn't ever moved clothes here and would be stuck wearing the exact same thing that she had arrived in. She started to move over to the dresser when she caught movement in the corner of her eye.

Glancing over to the door she saw Barty standing within the frame a scowl set into his face. She felt a chill run down her spine from the dark look he was giving her and quickly tried to come up with a reason for it in her mind, only able to find one thing. "I didn't mean to-"

He had advanced quickly towards her, a hand wrapping around her throat stopping her from continuing. She could feel another hand on her waist pushing-or tugging she wasn't sure-her past the center of the bedroom. The back of her legs hit the front of the bed and she fell backward when his hand had moved to the center of her stomach and pushed her down. The hands withdrew a moment later and she drew in breaths of air to recover, vaguely aware of a rustling sound as she stared at the ceiling. "Barty?" she finally managed to catch her breath enough to try and figure out what was going on.

A hand was on her again, gripping at her thigh. With a harsh tug she let out a squeek as she was dragged forward so that her knee and the upper part of her legs were no longer on the bed. Hermione began to raise her head, barely getting an inch off the sheet beneath her when she felt fingers wrap around her right shoulder, to see him looming over her, his lips twisted into a smirk. "Shut up, Hermione." His fingers twisted into her shoulder making her gasp then wince when she saw his eyes narrow.

Seeing that look she didn't really need to ask what was about to happen anymore. It was becoming clear to her what his intentions were, though she couldn't make any sense of it. "We-" She released another sharp gasp when she felt his hand strike her cheek. Tears stung at her eyes from the contact but she pressed on regardless. "We already did that this week."

"I thought you said you wanted to read the 'fine print?' Your know-it-all attitude is slipping Hermione." She narrowed her eyes the moment she heard the words 'know-it-all,' she hated being called that. The moment she parted her lips a hand clamped down over her mouth before she could get a word out to try and insult him for having said that. "Do I have to inform you of everything?" He paused but with her mouth covered she was unable to answer and only managed to glare at him. "They don't count the night of the marriage as part of the week."

Her eyes widened as her blood seemed to run cold all of the sudden. The hand over her lips was retracted and a whimper passed through them at just remembering what it had felt like the last time. Or rather the first time that she wished was the last time since she couldn't just completely forget what had happened. She found herself wondering if he had chains hidden somewhere in her own room and started to wriggle beneath him, to throw him off.

The hand on her shoulder just pushed harder at her, while the one on her thigh slipped up to grab and hold her down by the waist. The only part of her she found she could move in this position was her upper body and even then it wasn't by much. From the way his eyes lowered from her face to her breasts it probably wasn't the smartest thing she could have done. "Are you..." his eyes raised slowly back to her own sending a small wave of relief through her that she now had his attention away from that particular body part. "are you going to chain me again?"

His answering chuckle just made her stiffen beneath him. "Only if you try to get away again, or are you asking because you want to be chained again?" The way he was grinning down at her suddenly made her heart leap into her throat. She didn't think she could come up with a single thing from any horror novel-or movie-that was more scary in that moment. "No?"

At the prompting she scowled. "No." Hermione snapped hoping her glare would cut through him so she didn't have to deal with this. Try to anyways.

His hand had left her shoulder and she could feel fingers wrap around her chin the moment the word left her lips. "Then I would suggest you stay still." Pressure was suddenly applied along her waist and her body jerked from the shock of pain that bloomed out from the spot. Taking advantage of her concentration being broken she felt him slip into her and she yelled in anger.

She bucked her hips barely a second later, freezing when he groaned above her. Her breath was coming faster now and she wondered for a moment why it didn't hurt quite as much as before. His fiingers digging into her shoulder quickly changed that thought. The way he pounded into her continuosly without hesitation made her gasp in pain each time.

When he suddenly picked up speed she curled her hand into a fist and hit him right in the chest. Even then he didn't stop, instead he-he... laughed. She whimpered as the hand on her shoulder moved to press on her neck. His head bent down and she let loose a scream the moment his teeth touched her skin, just before it sank into the soft flesh of her breast only for her to scream again a moment later.

Raising both hands now that the one was no longer constrained she beat at his sides, her actions faltering with each swipe of his tongue over the bite mark. "St-op." A piercing cry filled the air between the word when his hand struck her cheek.

Her head lolled to the side and her hits subsided as she drew in quick sharp breaths. "Don't tell me what I can and can not do." Hermione's breath hitched as his hand was still on her face, a single finger moving over the skin. A part of her mind wondered if she had somehow hit a nerve for him to strike her like that in this moment. It slowly creeped into her mind that he had stilled and... her skin crawled just from the fact that it had happened again.

She was about to open her mouth, to snap at him to get off her when she felt that his finger was pressed to her lip. His eyes were narrowed as he gazed down at her and she felt her throat tighten as her skin ran cold from that look. When his finger applied a little pressure it easily slid past her lips into her mouth. She didn't dare move as he drew it out a second later, moving the saliva he had collected along her lips to stop and tap at the side of her mouth. "Don't speak next time, or else."

Her eyes widened, immediately understanding his threat. His hand moved away first and then he was no longer in her vision yet she could hear him walking across the room and out the door.

Hermione stayed on the edge of her bed, splaying her hands out next to her and gripping at the sheets as she tugged herself fully back onto the blanket. She didn't move any further than that, she just laid there trembling above the covers trying to stop the rush of images coming to her head. Images that her life would be like this forever.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel I should warn about the awful language in this chapter... so there you go.

She was curled up on her side, staring at her reflection in the vanity mirror though she didn't see herself. Instead there was a figure standing above her, a cruel smile playing out as it laughed at her. A set of concerned eyes, his voice whispering softly in her ear. From the surface a hand reached out to run over her skin.

Hermione raised her own hand slowly, touching at the scar on her neck, mimicing his actions from before. From when he was massaging her neck and speaking in soft tones.

Well, she thought he had. With everything that was happening she kept thinking it had all been a dream, a hallucination. Something she had dreamed up while sick, to try and make him more human, less of a monster.

Yet it had felt so real at the time.

A ghost of air rushing over the skin with each breath he took, that serene look in his eyes as he stared at her neck. She had actually been content then, looking back at him, hands cuffed above her. The conversation had even been pleasant, lifting a sort of weight off her shoulders when she told him what had happened at her house, about the scheme she had set up with Blaise.

She swallowed self-consciously. Mentioning that seemed to have broken it, almost as soon as the words were past her lips he was out the door. Even though she had wanted him to stay. She wasn't even sure why she would want that. Especially with how he treated her when... when she wasn't sick. Hermione didn't want to believe that any of the times she woke up were true, though she knew each one was.

Her cheeks felt hot as she remembered talking about a cat skull, which she had dubbed 'kitty' in her deluded state. They only warmed further when she recalled grabbing at his finger, the same one he had used to threatened her with. The same one she had been voluntarily trying to stick in her mouth. Is that why he had done that? That taste still lingered in her mouth, of his skin, warm, we-

She shot up from the bed with a gasp, arms curling quickly around her legs. _Do not finish that sentance._ It was a mantra she repeated again and again. It wasn't helping.

Scrambling up and off the bed she hurried to the shower, twisting the knob to hot and she stepped right under the water that practically burned at her skin. Steam quickly filling up the bathroom to unfurl in her bedroom when it slipped past the doorway. Parting her lips she let the water run over her, scalding, making it all go away.

Make it go away. Make all the pain go away.

She shivered, her body trembling as the memory of the whip stinging across her skin lanced through her mind. Her knees shook and she fell to the tile, tears quickly falling down her face, whimpers crawling up her throat.

It seemed forever that she was laying there, yet the water was still hot when it was turned off. Fingers wrapping around her arm, being urged to get up, and when she didn't arms wrapped around her, lifting her up out of the bathroom into her own to be set on her bed. She only cried harder when she felt the familiar fabric beneath her skin again, painfully aware of his presence next to her.

Her face seemed to grow cold when his hand rested on her cheek, the warmth of her tears seeming to quickly vanish beneath the palm. "Hermione, you have school in a few hours, you need to change into your robes."

For a moment she stilled at the words. School. It was like a blessing on the wind, the oppurtunity to get out of here and away from this place. Before she had to come back again that is... in just five days. She made a small pained noise in the back of her throat, her eyes feeling hot again. Come back here? To this piece of hell? And she had thought having only to be here for two days would make it easier than the three that would have been demanded of her had she been out of school.

Having to survive another two days after this week... and another after that. She wasn't even sure if she had survived this weekend, and if she had she wasn't sure _how_. If it could even be qualified as such.

The sting of her flesh was still fresh in her mind and it had haunted her later the other night. Nevermind the nightmares, it was haunting her _now_. If she closed her eyes-and she did-she could feel the blood running down her chest, slithering down her legs, curving off her skin to hit the stone beneath. Each little drip louder than the last till it was like a thunderstorm raging around her.

With effort she opened her eyes, turning slowly to look Barty in the eye, lips parting for her voice to come out shaking, "I hate you." she murmured. It felt good, just saying it. Saying those words to him. This monster sitting infront of her who kept touching at her face even as fresh tears ran down her cheeks. Kept touching her as if he was allowed to, and of course he thought he could. Because they were married, because to him she was just his tight young cunt that he could fuck whenever he wanted. It was almost surprising that he didn't do it more since he obviously enjoyed it the first two times. The law only required a minimum after all, there was nothing about trying more often, and they would probably like that. So they could have more witches and wizards. While in the meantime she was used and beaten.

Her skin prickled. It was so unfair, unjustified that she be treated this way. He should be in Azkaban surrounded by Dementors forever taking happy memories from him. Taking the memories of her beneath him, struggling as he laughed. Of her beaten and bloody body hanging from the chains. All of them should be taken away from him, then she can forget her own and act as if nothing ever happened. They should handcuff him since he seemed to like the things so much. _He_ should be suffering, not her. He should be dead.

For everything he had done, whatever deeds she didn't know of that had happened in the first war. For trapping Alastor Moody and taking his place. For tricking Harry, making her friend actually trust the person masquerading as a Professor, setting him up to win that damned tournament. For putting his name in the Goblet in the first place. For bringing Voldemort back.

It was a wonder he wasn't broken out the same time as the other Death Eaters. She remembered the Prophet actually mentioning that he had been sent to one of the most secure cells in the prison. Underguard not by the Dementors but actual wizards, ones that knew how to deal with dark magic. Not necessarily aurors, but live trusted guards to make sure he never got out of Azkaban again. It should have been impossible for him to get out and here he was. No guards in sight.

Not even rotting in the ground.

Her shaking limbs steadied for a moment. She forgot about her wand locked away to keep her from doing magic the moment she thought about it. Just slipping away... she didn't need it to deal with him. Someone less than human, far less than any wizard, with no purpose but to cause destruction and pain to others. To her in particular it seemed as he hadn't been out of Azkaban for very long. It was as if he had been let out to torture her. Made sense.

Orders from the top to torture the girl that was friends with the boy-who-lived. All because he wasn't able to kill him back in fourth year. As if he would get a second chance.

She could see Harry's body on the floor in the dream again, a wand pointed down, torturing him... That couldn't happen. She couldn't let it happen.

He needed to be locked up in Azkaban again. But the Ministry wasn't going to do that. They weren't about to do anything.

Her nails were biting into her skin, the fingers curled against the palm of her hand, and then it was no longer at her side. Her fist struck him right in the jaw and she felt a rush of satisfaction from the surprised look in his eyes. Turning quickly, she had her legs on either side of him just before she hit him in the shoulder, pushing hard so he was on his back for once instead of her.

"I fucking hate you!" She screamed as she flew into a rage, hitting him over and over again with fists, the palm of her hand, occasionaly slicing at his skin with her nails. Each time she got the mark though she didn't care at how easy it was. Didn't care about the blood staining her hands or the sheets beneath them that turned a slightly deeper shade when little specks hit it. Didn't matter because in her mind the blanket was a sea of blood. A sea of his blood.

"You bloody monster." Hermione snarled. "You should be locked up in Azkaban with the Dementors!" To puncuate her yell of frustration she hit him again. "How the hell did you get out anyways? Why aren't you locked up? Why do you have to torture me!" The blood in her own veins was pounding, whole body quivering in anger. Her life shouldn't have made this turn. His shouldn't have-"Why don't you bloody answer me!"

Looking down into his eyes, at the bruise forming near his left eye, a line of blood on his right cheek, the already dark purple-blue of his jaw, she didn't find an answer. She clentched her teeth. He was ignoring her now was he?

"I answered your questions, now you answer mine!" It would only be fair. Then again, what Death Eater would be fair? Actually play by the rules? None if she was any judge.

Especially him. Least of all him. "I'll have you locked in Azkaban for what you've done to me! I don't care how long it takes! How many days, months, or years until you are back where you belong! You'll suffer for this!" She paused when she finally saw some movement beneath her. It hadn't been much, just the corner of his mouth had seemed to twist for a moment. She leaned closer, trying to catch it again but he wasn't moving. Her lip curled. He was pissing her off.

Hermione swung her hands down, each one going to rest on the bed on either side of his head as she leaned forward, glaring down at him. She could have sworn that smoke was coming out from her mouth as her whole body seemed to burn from the rage within her. "I'll walk you to the cell myself if that's what it takes." She hissed. As if to confirm it, to know for a fact that it would happen she said so. "You'll be back in your cell, with more guards than you can count, a Dementor always behind the wall, and this time you'll stay there, because that's where you should be. Instead of here with me."

"I know."

She jerked her head back when he spoke, face no longer hovering mere inches from his own. Besides moving his mouth to speak he didn't do anything else. He was still just looking at her, not moving. He hadn't moved when she had hit him either, not even to block a punch...

With a gasp she scrambled back, her knees bumping against his clothed legs as she pushed frantically at the bed with her hands to get away from him. She yelped when she fell of the bed, legs crumbling beneath her, bare bum hitting the wood floor. Not even sparing a thought for how ridiculous she must look she pushed herself up quickly from the floor, running out the door into the hall, only taking a spare second to grab her clothes that had been neatly stacked from on top of the drawer.

Hermione only stopped her desperate run in the living room and that was only because she had to get into her clothes first. Randomly showing up in the Gryfindor Commons naked was not on her bucket list.

It took her a moment to catch her breath as her whole body shook though the adrenaline from before was gone and she felt deathly cold. Looking through her clothes she located her knickers first then got to each individual article afterwards, trying to rid herself of the feeling.

The fact was she had been vulnerable in that room, her room. She really shouldn't have done that. He could have hit her, could have done a million things to her. The little fact that he hadn't terrified her. Most people would have retaliated instantly. Yes, he seemed surprised by her actions but he was a Death Eater, had been in a war before and survived. One of the ways to survive was have quicker reflexes than your opponent, better skill, among all the other factors. Sometimes just plain old luck even.

Still. She shouldn't have been able to do that. She-gasped, her hand flew to her mouth, covering it and she slid down the wall she had been leaning against shirt still partly open as her fingers stopped working on the buttons. He had let her.

Why? It was the first question that popped into her mind but she shoved it down quickly. Even if she asked he wouldn't answer, he had already demonstrated that he was better at keeping secrets than her. Truth was it didn't really matter right now. It was therepercussion she needed to be worrying about. With him there always seemed to be a consequence, whether she did as told or not. Lowering her hand she went back to work on the shirt trying not to think about what would happen here on her next visit. Already dreading it and punching herself mentally for having made such a stupid rash decision.

Hermione was still taking in quick breaths of air, her fingers trembling above the buttons when she felt his slip around her wrist. Her whole body froze, breath faltering at the contact and she kept her eyes lowered, staring at the grains of wood in the floor boards.

"Can't look me in the eyes anymore?" When she didn't move he addressed her again. "Hermione, it's impolite to not look at someone when they're speaking to you." With a whimper caught in her throat she slowly raised her head, glancing at him from the corner of her eye while her heart hammered away in her chest. "Just turn your head a bit more." The whimper slipped past her lips and she turned her head to look at him. The bruises that had been forming before, the scar she had inflicted, they were all gone. "Better. Now if you could manage it next time without looking like a scared rabbit."

His words just sent her body shaking harder and she fought to keep her eyes on him rather than look away like she so desperately wanted to. She practically jumped when his fingers left her wrist, going past her hand to button up her shirt the rest of the way. Pausing only once to press at her covered breast, right where he had bitten her before causing her to gasp when pain rushed from the spot. Her voice trembled when she spoke, "I'm not scared."

"Really?" he questioned while his fingers deftly got done with the last button. "Because you look scared to me." She could feel her body freeze up once again when his fingers trailed further up, brushing up her neck before grasping at her chin. "Tell me Hermione, what are you scared of?"

She barely had to think it over. "You."

She winced at his chuckle. "Me? You didn't seem very scared of me a moment ago." The grip on her chin tightened and she could sense the threat it held. She bit at her lip as to not break eye contact. His smirk had slipped into a frown, perhaps disapointed that she hadn't fallen for his trick so he could use it as an excuse to hit her. "I help you get back to good health and in return you try to beat me bloody. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Sucking in a breath when his grip tightened further she opened her mouth-barely-to answer. "You tortured and raped me. It's only fair that you get an injury for it, even if you heal it instantly." This time she managed to stop her voice from shaking.

His other hand raised and she fought the urge to shrink away as a finger touched her cheek. "I also healed your wounds. You and me both know that the torture wouldn't have been necessary if you had just answered my questions in the first place." The finger was dragged up her skin, stopping at the corner of her eye.

Not able to stop herself anymore she leaned back to rest her head against the wall just to put some distance between them. For a moment she just stared at him, breath coming fast, her mind racing to something he had said back on Friday. "You're not trying." When he gave her a questioning look she went on, "To make this work. You're just using me, for your own pleasure and to help the Death Eaters. That's not how a marriage works."

For a moment he seemed to just be looking at her, studying her. His hand that had previously been near her eye was lowered and ended up resting on her thigh. The other hand let go of her chin, instead pressing his finger to her throat in the space right between her collar bone. It was when his lips slowly twisted into a smile when her heart started to beat erratically in her chest. "Are you willing to be honest now?" Her eyes darted away, immediately knowing what he was getting at but not willing to respond. "It's just a basic thing needed for any relationship to work."  She bit at her lip, ignoring his words and just closed her eyes as if that would help block it out. "What was it Remus saw?"

She blinked. The question had changed. "How do you kn-" She snapped her jaw shut a second later, staring at him as he smirked at her. Bloody hell. The manipulative bastard. She really hated him.

"So," his hand squeezed at her thigh and she winced. "he did see something." The grip on her relaxed once again. "We're finally getting somewhere. Now to be completely honest you just need to tell me what it was." She tried to keep a steady glare on him even as she felt his hand moving to her inner thigh, fingers going up before dipping in her waistline. It was when he pinched the skin that she broke it off with a yelp, eyes closing, body giving a little jerk from the sudden pain. "Well?" he asked while his hand slipped back out.

She just shook her head not trusting herself to speak after what happened last time.

He issued a sigh. "Right when I thought we were just starting to get along." She highly doubted that's where his mind was when he kept touching her like how he was now. "There's always next time." Her eyes snapped open to stare at him, dread passing over her at just the idea of going through anything like this again. "You should think about cooperating, Hermione." When he leaned in she pressed harder against the wall to try and get away though it accomplished nothing. He only spoke again when his lips were right next to her ear. " _You could enjoy it_."

With a gasp she brought her hands up and pushed him away, aware in the corner of her mind that she was only able to get him off her because he backed off. "Never." she hissed and stood up quickly walking straight past him to get her wand from the bench. Without even turning to look at him she moved into the fireplace, yelling out her destination in anger.

/ / /

The classroom was buzzing from all the whispering going around even though it was still a few minutes until the Proffessor was to walk inside. Blaise ignored most of the conversations as they were just idle chatter, gossipers and the like. The only one remotely interesting was between  Weasely and Potter, only because they were talking about his 'match'.

"Gin says she didn't see Hermione anywhere this morning, along with her roommates. Nothing about her being there last night either."

"She told us she went to see her parents and then Blaise, she probably went back to her parent's house for the night and overslept."

"That's not like Hermione though."

"No, it isn't. But her parents are muggles, they're not going to be as accepting of this law as yours. Having to explain that you've been matched by some ancient ritual and getting married in four months to them would be exhausting."

"Why wouldn't her parents accept it?"

"Just because your brothers were matched with the girls they were going out with doesn't mean it's the same for everyone else. They got lucky. Hermione never dated Blaise. She's just lucky not to have gotten matched with some old geezer."

"He's still a Slytherin." Ron lowering his voice made Blaise just concentrate harder on the conversation to catch the words.

"Yeah, but it's like your mom said. If he were to try anything with Hermione she would take him down a peg or two. Why are you being so worried anyways?" When there was a pause in the flow Blaise turned his head to meet Potter's eyes before the other boy looked away. "He's here in class with us. Whatever the reason for her running late would have to do with her parents, they're the only other people she went to see over the weekend."

That wasn't actually true. Blaise knew that but he wouldn't say anything. Him and Hermione had made a contract of sorts when it came to their matches. He may not know why she didn't want to divulge hers-though since she had mentioned being away every weekend he could easily deduct that whoever she was matched with was either older or in a different school. The details weren't of any interest to him. They had agreed not to talk about the other's circumstance.

It was a little odd though. Not seeing her in the class already, her being late after her first weekend away. Either her and her match were hitting it off or she was ripping into him, figuratively speaking of course.

The only problem he could see coming from this little exchange was if she didn't get here quick enough and the Professor asked him where she was since the rumor that they were matched together was now out in the open. He supposed he could just say she was with her parents but if they asked for details he would have to start making things up. Again, he doubted they would but he would rather not have to deal with it.

Blam!

Everyone turned quickly when the door was swung open so hard. Since they weren't in Defense Against the Dark Arts the sudden noise wasn't expected. It left the room silent when Hermione ran into the room in a flurry of steps, managing to look both vexed and flustered at the time.  She was tugging at her sleeves, rolling them back down and he could noticed water tinged pink sliding down her wrist before it was covered by the robe. In her other hand was her tie, which she was now fitting into her uniform as she sat down in a chair next to her friends.

This time when Weasely spoke everyone could hear him, "Where have you been?"

"Parents." The reply was rather snappy even for Granger.

Potter was giving his friend a look of, 'I told you so,' before turning to Hermione. By this time most everyone else was going back to their exchange of words, only a few glancing back at the bushy-haired girl, and then to him he realized a moment later. He flushed slightly and turned to face the board again. Well, atleast it would just fuel the belief that they were going out along with everything else that came with.

There was a puff of air to his right and Blaise turned to glance at Draco. "Would you like an award for your acting skills?"

"Lower your voice." he said quickly. Draco was the only one he had told about him and Hermione putting on an act for eachothers benefit besides his own match.

"It _is_ lowered." Draco purposely raised his voice on the last word though no one turned to look at them. Who would honestly? All the other students avoided the Slytherins, as if they would want to get caught up in their 'snake pit' as the seventh year girls so affectionately called. In his group of friends though it was just called, 'their fucking buisness that was no one else's damn bloody buisness'. Pansy had gotten herself tongue tied saying it a handful of times. Blaise was on the verge of rolling his eyes at having mentioned it in the first place as it had been a stupid request. "How loud do you think those twins will scream when they go to get their books from their bags?"

Blaise glanced toward the two Patil girls at the front of the room, fully aware of the slimy worms charmed to move just waiting in their packs. One of Draco's less devious plans but it served as its own form of entertainment. "They might shock Professor Binns to the fact that he's a ghost. If his ears are still working that is."

Draco chuckled at that. "Would be more surprised if they hadn't fallen off already." A moment after the comment though Draco was looking back to his desk looking oddly gloomy even though he wasn't seventeen yet so he didn't have to deal with the added stress of this new law. He was actually looking rather thinner these days as well and just plain unhealthy. The reason for his sudden change in behavior eluded Blaise and was starting to get on his nerves. Especially since Draco wouldn't talk about what had happened to him over the summer.

"Raise your head skin-and-bones or you'll miss the show." He said, catching sight of the first twin leaning over to get her book when the Professor walked into the room.

"What are you? My mum?" Draco turned his head just in time to see the first twin scream loudly in fright when the worm slided up her hand and into the sleeve of her robe to be followed quickly by the other girl screaming. Soon the Slytherins in the classroom were laughing as they watched the scene unfold. The Professor hurrying over and telling the two girls to calm down.

This whole calming down process took about three minutes as the girls wriggled in their chairs screaming things like, "What the bloody hell is that thing? Get it off me! Get it out of my robes!" One Slytherin actually called out for Padma to take the robe off. The poor boy got hexed in response the moment the two girls were rid of the slugs which just sent the whole classroom into a round of laughter.

"Okay! That's enough!" McGonagall spoke loudly over the snickers filling the room. "Open your books to page fourty six. _You_ will see me after class." The Professor looked pointedly at the Slytherin that had made the crude remark before turning to the board and proceeding with the class.


	10. Chapter 10

Bloody Slytherins.

She could still hear the screams of the Patil twins echoing in her ears, how she had clamped a hand over her own mouth to stop from screaming herself since the sudden noise had surprised her. Then there was the laughing from the other side of the room. Her gaze had quickly found Zabini and she had scowled at the side of his head that hid who she was sure to be the culprit from view. Draco Malfoy.

Once the class had calmed down and she had assured herself that she wasn't trapped in some weird nightmare where Barty would randomly show up and start torturing people-or even her for the millionth time. She lowered her hand from her mouth earning an odd look from Ron and Harry.

At the time she just told them she was a little jumpy (had she really said that word? she couldn't remember now) after what had happened to Remus. That seemed to get the two off her back pretty quickly and a few sympathy looks even. She could have done without them as they had no reason to pity her. They didn't know about Barty and the torture he put her through.

That man... she hated him. _Enjoy it._ He had said it in such a teasing way too, for a moment it had felt like a normal relationship. Then his breath was too hot on her ear and she knew she had to get out of there. That and classes had been starting soon.

She had almost been late because of him holding her hostage against the wall. Hermione bit at her lip. She had never been late to a class before and then she had to hurry down the corridors to Transfiguration, having to stop when she realized his blood was still on her hands. Diving into the girls lavatory that Mrytle occupied to avoid getting looks and hoping no one had noticed it as she had run down the halls. Standing infront of a cracked mirror, scrubbing at her hands then under her nails to get rid of the red liquid. Making it so she was literally having to run past McGonagall in the hall just so she wasn't late.

If only she had gotten a better match. No. If only this law didn't exist, the ritual didn't exist. Then she could be having a good day right now. Not that there was anything in particular wrong with today but she kept thinking about Barty and how she would end up at his-their-house later that week. It wasn't something she wanted to be thinking about.

That's why she was scanning over titles of books in the library currently. To get away from those thoughts and lose herself to the world of knowledge or history. Either would work just fine as long as it got him out of her mind.

"-it's _Episkey_." Turning her head she watched as a seventh year pronounced the spell for a younger Ravenclaw student, by the looks of it a third year.

"Ep-skiie."

"Eh-pi-skie." The older student said it in parts this time, putting special emphasis on each word.

"Ehp-skiee."

There was a sigh. "You're forgetting the middle part. Better though. Let's try again."

Hermione frowned slightly as she watched the two continue with their private study session. Barty had mentioned being a Ravenclaw before. It was weird to picture him in the blue and bronze colors instead of the green and silver she would have thought he would be in. Unless that part of the conversation was something her mind had made up since he had never answered her questions before. Wouldn't surprise her if that was the case.

"What are you lookin' at?"

She blinked, gaze flickering between the third and seventh year for a moment as she realized she had spaced out, though they probably thought she was staring. "Sorry." Hermione had begun to turn away before she stopped in her tracks, turning slightly to look back at them. She could confirm it right now, straight out facts were a lot more reliable than people that didn't answer her questions. "The yearbooks for Ravenclaw are in your commons, right?"

"Yeah." The third year said with a scowl. "That's how it is for all the Houses, how stupi-"

"Elaine, you have a spell to be working on remember? Unless you want to be called worse you should learn how to pronunciate words. Get to it." The seventh year had cut the girl off though Hermione was still surprised. She had never heard a Ravenclaw talk like that before. "Follow me." She just gave a nod, walking away from the table with the seventh year student and through the library back to the hallway. "What do you need our yearkbooks for?"

"I only need one, from around seventeen years ago." She began, unsure exactly how much to say about it. The last thing she needed was rumors about her going around digging into Barty's history here at Hogwarts but it was the only way she could confirm that Ravenclaw was the House he had been in without asking him herself. "Heard a rumor about a past student and I just want to confirm it." That seemed a good enough excuse.

The other student was silent as they walked through the halls and up the moving staircases only to stop at a corner that she knew if they went around would then be infront of the hidden entry to Ravenclaw. "Stay here." Hermione just nodded and leaned against the wall as she waited for the seventh year to come back.

A few minutes passed before she heard footsteps and he came back around the corner, handing off a single yearbook to her from the timeframe she had requested. "Thank you."  Hermione said as she took the book from his hands and opened it, immediately flipping through the pages.

"No problem."

She didn't say anything as he leaned up against the wall next to her, focusing on the book, searching for the seventh year students and then going over last names. She found him on the fifth page for that year. A younger version of Barty looking up at her, eyes just as cold that first time she met him. She came close to just shutting the book and handing it off to the student next to her but reined the emotion in. Her eyes scanning over the page.

An Outstanding for all OWLs, all classes of the NEWT level. It was what one would expect of any Ravenclaw, with perfect scores across the board. She had told her mother he was good in magic as well as a good student. It made her feel better having this sort of proof infront of her. That she hadn't had to lie about it. Though she had mentioned being married... She suspected she would pay for that later unless she came up with a good excuse. Putting a reminder in the back of her mind to think something up she ran her finger along the bottom of the page.

Besides looking as cold hearted as he was now he looked like a normal student. It was something she found unnerving. Odd. The page didn't have any magical tampering on it though as far as she could tell, even when she cast a wandless charm on it to know for sure. Her hand slipped from the page. It had to be true then.

"Isn't that Crouch's son?"

Hermione almost jumped at the question, gaze flickering towards the student and she immediately felt it was the wrong reaction. Her gaze moved quickly back to the page. "Yeah. He got released from Azkaban a few weeks ago. Heard a wizard say that he was in Ravenclaw while I was out during the weekend and needed to see it for myself. Otherwise I just wouldn't have believed it. He seems more like a Slytherin."

"It is a bit hard to believe." She held in a sigh of relief that he had bought her story. "Always thought he was a Slytherin myself, but this makes more sense."

She blinked. "What?" Hermione glanced towards the older student. "How does it make more sense?"

"Between what's on this page and what happened in fifth year, your fourth year, it was a bit hard to believe. The actions he took, regardless if he was imperiod or not were more similar to what a Ravenclaw would have done, not a Slytherin."

"How so?" she still couldn't quite wrap her head around what the seventh year was saying. The fact that Barty was a Ravenclaw wasn't surprising him. Though it had surely surprised her.

"The way he got around everything; jinxing the Goblet of Fire, the other tricks on students to manipulate them. It's different than the way a Slytherin would normally manipulate someone. Slytherin students don't tend to take such chances, they want something that won't even have a small chance of failing. Ravenclaws are more intellectual about it, also adapt to the circumstances a lot faster. Aryen Claikar did a study on personalities for Hogwarts because of the different Houses and how they were similar to the Founders, along with a bunch of other details. It fits the general outlook."

"Oh." She hadn't ever looked up any of Claikar's studies before, but they were more on personalities and magic that collaborated with them rather than things she found more interesting. Maybe she should look up a few for independent study. "Here." She closed the year book before handing it back to him. "Thanks again." Hermione said then pushed herself from the wall, starting her way back down the stairs towards the Great Hall not wanting to be late after Ginny telling her that she and Ron had something to tell her and Harry.

As soon as took a seat on the long bench alongside the Gryfindor table Ron asked, "What took you so long?"

"Hey," Ginny flicked at her brother's nose making him announce a loud ow though Hermione doubted it had hurt. After everything she had experience just a few days ago she didn't see how anyone could say ow over such a little thing. "dinner hasn't even started yet. Stop being such a sour puss."

"You had something you wanted to tell me and Hermione?" Harry asked as the food appeared on the plates and they all started collecting some onto their own.

"Yeah, but not here. Ron and I went back to the house and used our brother's extendable ears and overheard a few things the other night." There was a pause as Ginny drank from her glass of water, voice slightly lowered next time she spoke, "It's about Remus."

Hermione's hand stopped mid-air, the mash potatoes from her fork falling onto her plate with a plop. The blood in her veins suddenly felt cold. Remus had seen something... what if that's what Ginny and Ron had overheard? So far she didn't know many specifics about it and she didn't want to know anything more. She hadn't even looked at the Daily Prophet to see what had happened to the Walgonn family. Personally she would rather the only thing she revealed to Barty be that it was cube shaped, the only thing she actually knew about this object. Surely there had been multiple items of that shape that he couldn't just guess right off the bat what it was. For all either of them knew it could be completely harmless. Why Barty was convinced it was something important was just another thing she didn't want to know. If she did then he would just tear the information from her eventually.

"Hermione?" The moment she felt a hand on her arm she jerked it back and out of Harry's grip, a flush coming over her cheeks when she realized how she was reacting to this news.

Setting the one hand on her lap as she got more food from the other plates with the one holding the serving utensil she asked, "Is Remus okay?"

Ginny was silent for a moment, just looking at Hermione as she purposely avoided eye contact with the ginger haired girl. "The nurse said he'll be fine. He's not critical anymore and should only be in the hospital for a few more days."

"That's good news." Hermione said, looking down so she didn't have to meet any of their eyes as she could still feel them all looking at her. She picked up her own fork, taking a bite as an excuse not to speak.

"Yeah." She didn't look up from her plate even after she heard them all eating their own food. "It's the only good news though." Ron said, he sounded bitter. As if something had gone horribly wrong.

Her stomach clentched and she sat the fork down, staring at her plate that still held half the food not sure if she could finish it. She had a sinking feeling this other news was her fault.

"I was thinking we could talk more in Hagrid's Hut. He said he would be out in the forest so we could use it if we wanted to talk about what we heard in private."

"He said that?" Harry asked.

"Well, we got caught." Ginny said, judging from the sound of her voice she was blushing out of embarrassment, though Hermione didn't look up to check. She just pushed her food around the plate not able to take another bite. "Hagrid was there and he offered the hut as a safe place for us to talk. Mum had us kicked out of the house after that and told us to go play while they finished up and to not listen in again."

When Ginny went silent after that Hermione just took small sips of water as the other three finished eating. She pushed herself up from the bench and followed them out of the Great Hall reluctantly.

Hermione tugged her robes tighter around herself to try and stop the shivering that had started once they were out of the castle and walking down the path to the hut.

Harry was the first to get to the door and pulled it open, waiting for the rest of them to enter before closing it behind him. Hermione went to sit in one of the chairs around the table waiting for Harry to get settled so they could start this... meeting. One she would rather not be at but she couldn't think up anyway to get out of it that wouldn't make her look gulity or even come across as weird to them. Since under normal circumstances she wouldn't miss anything like this.

"So what's the bad news?" Harry asked.

Ginny visibly paled at the question. "Well, do you remember what Remus said? About what he was doing before the attack?"

Hermione found herself holding her breath as Harry nodded muttering a, "Yeah." in response.

"Right. Well," There was a pause and Hermione looked to Ginny who was obviously trying to get herself to say the words.

Ron must have decided Ginny was taking too long as he just blurted it out in the next second, "That half-blood family, the Walgonns, that were going to be joining the Order, supporting them and stuff. They were all killed on Monday."

Hermione couldn't help but lower her eyes to the table, her blood completely cold, guilty running through her veins. If she had just been able to keep her mouth shut. If Barty hadn't switched the questions on her. If she had just said the shape of the item. Whatever it was it couldn't be more important than all those lives that were lost. If-

"There's one other thing." Hermione raised her head slowly to look at Ginny wondering what else could have gone wrong. "It's not necessarily bad news... but it's not entirely good news either. Once the nurses were sure Remus wasn't critical anymore they had let the Order inside and he told them everything that had happened and how he had seen the Death Eaters and this... box I guess. With engravings, like a puzzle box and how he could feel dark energy radiating from it. Remus said he actually saw a Death Eater cast a spell on it and how it seemed to... soak it in."

Hermione had to force herself to not get up and run from the room. This is exactly what she hadn't wanted to know about. What Barty would want to ask her about and she wasn't completely sure if she could keep it to herself this time. She would try, but just thinking about it made her skin burn as if the leather striking over her skin again. As if he was burning his name into her side.

She squeezed her eyes shut to block out the memory, just listening to the others talk.

"What is that suppose to do?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. That's when we got caught and ended up having to go outside. The members of the Order probably have an idea or two but I have no clue what it is. There might be something in the Restricted Section of the library."

"Like what?" Ron asked. "How to make your own puzzle box of doom?"

"Pandora's box." The idea had just suddenly came to Hermione and she said it out loud, opening her eyes as she glanced around at the others. "You said it soaked up the dark energy, like it was storing it inside. So it just keeps taking in all the energy until someone opens it."

"That's a myth."

Hermione scowled at Ron. "I'm not saying it's Pandora's actual box. I'm saying it sounds like it works the same way as the box. You open it and it will release all that dark energy. In the myth it releases all the evil into the world and we already got all the evil in the world."

"That sounds better than what Ron and I thought up back at the Burrow."

"So, it's a weapon then?" Harry asked.

Hermione shrugged. "Could be." she said while getting up. "I have to go and start on my homework so you guys can look it up in the library and see if you get anywhere with that."

"Wait." Ron said as she pushed the chair into the table and she glanced towards him wondering why she should. She shouldn't have been in on this meeting in the first place. The Order would tell Harry if there was anything truly dangerous going on. "You can do your homework later, we need your help."

No, you really don't. She didn't say the words but they were there in her mind. "Not right now. Maybe later." Hermione turned and quickly exited the hut to put some distance between them. It was bad enough that she now knew what Remus had seen, she didn't need to dicuss it any further with the others. For all she knew someone else would die and she just couldn't let that happen again.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Spring Break!

The insistent tapping of a heel along the polished wood floor for five straight minutes finally grated on Blaise's nerves enough for him to look up at his wife-to-be, when she turned seventeen that is.

Daphne Greengrass was sitting in one of the over cushioned chairs, legs crossed at the ankles. Her hard stare just become more evident now that he was looking at her, green eyes practically flickering with magic sparks. Even if he didn't know her too well it was evident right now that she was angry. Of what exactly he didn't know. He wished he had had a father that had warned him about angering a woman. She looked more terrifying sitting there than a Death Eater performing the cruciatus curse, and she hadn't even spoken yet.

This time the tapping didn't stop like the last time he had looked to her. "If I had known this arrangement would upset you this much-" he began, testing the boiling waters to try and pinpoint the issue only to hesitate the moment her eyes narrowed at him.

"That's not it."

Blaise sighed. Good grief. "Then what is it?" He hadn't meant to sound exasperated but he must have as she just glared at him harder.

"'What is it?' What do you mean, 'what is it?' You should know exactly what the problem is."

His brow raised slightly at the way she had mimicked his vocal cords. "I don't sound like that."

Her shoulders raised as she drew in a breath and he unconsiously leaned further into his own chair. "Do I look like I give a damn if I sound like you? No, no I bloody well do not. I don't know if you've heard, well, obviously you haven't or else you wouldn't be asking me such a _stupid_ question. But there's this rumor going around-and I'm not talking about _that_ one. I'm talking about the one where you were blushing over your 'match.' Yeah, I heard about that."

He chose to intervene as she stopped for a breath of air. Considering that this topic was coming up it was a good thing none of their dormmates could heard them. "That was from those giggling girls getting ideas, you can even ask Draco. He'll tell you himself that's all it was." He hoped his friend would anyway, if he wasn't off sulking in some corner. Just another thing that was getting on his nerves.

"Oh! Is that it?" His eyes rolled at the overexageration before he could stop himself. "Don't you roll your eyes at me mister, blush-over-any-girl-that-looks-his-way."

"I don't." He tried to interject.

"Of course you don't. 'Cause it was just made up by her for your cover. Which is just going just swell I'm sure." Blaise frowned, as he wasn't exactly sure how it was going at the moment. He should probably try and see Hermione sometime within a week to assure everyone that the Ministry had put them together. Otherwise everything they had worked at would just fall apart, and considering the way Daphne was currently acting she wasn't ready for the big reveal of getting married to a Zabini, or getting married at all for that matter. "By the way, it wasn't her idea and there's no reason for rumors of you two snogging in an abandoned classroom-" So that's what this was about.

He pushed himself up from his chair walking over towards her.

"-and, and," she blinked at him as he sat infront of her, clasping her hands in his own. "w-what are you doing?"

"Daphne," he paused only long enough to lay a kiss on one of her still visible fingers. "don't worry about rumors like that. You know there not true. Hermione has her own match and I have you, there's no reason either of us would get together. This arrangement is for _our_ benefit. All you have to do to end it is tell me when you're ready." He watched her shoulders slowly go down, her body visibly relaxing. "Besides, all these rumors only work to benefit it. I told you already that I would tell you if there was any truth to any of them. The only current one is that blushing thing, which was only because I looked to long-" Her lips pursed at this and he pressed on despite feeling the start of another infamous Greengrass glare. "because she had blood on her wrist."

Daphne blinked. "Blood?" That news seemed to have stopped the glare abrutly. "Why?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I just noticed it. She told Potter and Weasely that she had been at her parent's house and she had come running into class so I would guess it was a minor cut she hadn't been able to heal right away. If you heard about that ridiculous snogging rumor than you must have heard how she was almost late."

"Yeah, I heard about that."

He parted his hands so he could kiss the back of her hand. "Then don't do this to yourself. Don't stress over what everyone else is saying."

Daphne gave a soft sigh. "You're right."

Blaise couldn't resist grinning at her. "Of course I am."

"Don't get full of yourself mister."

/ / /

The black cloak billowed behind Ginny when she turned a corner sharply intent on finding Ron and Harry. Fortunately she soon found herself right infront of them, almost colliding with-

"Harry!" she exclaimed grabbing onto his arm to stop herself from toppling into him even further. "Did you-"

"No." Ron answered before she could even ask. "We checked everywhere we could think of. Harry even remembered the Marauder's Map after we went to half of the places on foot-"

"I just didn't think of it right away, and neither did you."

Ron continued as if he hadn't just been interrupted by Harry. "-and we didn't see Hermione anywhere on it."

Ginny sighed. "Well, maybe she just wants to be alone right now. You know we can wait till she gets back over the weekend to talk about it. It's not necessary to do it right now."

"But-"

"No. She said an hour ago that she needed to speak with Blaise right? That's a bit more important considering we can't do anything with the information we have whether we tell her or not."

Ron sighed, scratching at the back of his head. "We didn't see Blaise on the map either. I guess she already left with him for the weekend."

"Monday then, and before then let's try not to get worked up again."

Ron gave an embaressed laugh as they made their way back to the commons.

/ / /

There was a loud scratching as the pen moved quickly across the parchment, blotting out what used to be notes. Picking up the paper and crumpling it Hermione threw it behind her into the ever growing stack of ripped parchment.

Leaning forward she pulled one of the books forward to glare at it.

None of these were helping her. At this point she was sure this one wouldn't either. She had been able to get Slughorn's permission to go into the Restricted Section easily enough when she started running out of material open to everyone. It was just a chance she was willing to take even with the knowledge that most of the subjects in those stacks contained dark magic, had a connection with the dark arts. Something she kept trying to avoid these last few days.

With a sigh she flipped open the book, glancing over the contents only to close it a moment later then hurl the book across the room.

"Useless!"

She buried her face in her hands taking in deep slow breaths to try and calm herself down. It's just that she wasn't finding anything to help her. She barely had anytime left before she had to go back to Barty and her search hadn't yeilded any results no matter where she looked for a solution.

Every book on memory charms she could get her hands on was splaid out on the desk infront of her, but she still hadn't managed to find anything within them that could help her.

All she needed was a spell that would erase the knowledge that Barty would want from her. Apparently it was a tall order. Obliviation wouldn't work though, her suspicions on that had just been confirmed from the texts, plus the incident with Gilderoy Lockhart just made it obvious that if any memory charm went haywire it wouldn't be good for her.

All of her research just led her in circles. Charms that specifically got rid of remembering spiders-which now that she thought of it was probably something Ron could use to get over his fear of the arthropods.

There were more, but they were just as useless as the next and the drawback for casting any incorrectly still shocked her. Though it made sense, afterall she would be manipulating her own mind.

She pushed the next book away, resting her head on folded arms and closing her eyes. If she was going to have any chance of Barty not getting the information she would need her strength.


	12. Chapter 12

Hermione rolled over in her sleep, fingers brushing over something smooth and soft, her hands clutched at the fabric a moment later. Eyebrows drawing together in confusion. Fabric? Soft? She distinctly remembered falling asleep on a hard wood chair; the edges digging into her sides, body curled awkwardly with her cheek resting against the desk when her arms must have fallen off. She remembered-

Her eyes flew open, a terror pounding up her throat as she glanced around quickly. Breath already coming in quick awkward gasps. There was a blur of golds, red, white. It all danced in her vision as her mind spun, only coming to a halt when her gaze rested on the vanity mirror.

Taking in a breath she stared back at her reflection. Of her room, the sheets of the bed tucked up around her.

For a moment she had thought she was in his bed again, living through a round of nightmares each time her eyes closed, that he would be standing over her, waiting.

Seeing her own eyes looking back at her, and being in a place she considered relatively safe, until the events of Sunday that is. Drawing in a shaky breath she turned away from the mirror, her eyes widening a moment later.

Oh, please. Please don't let it be him.

Not this soon.

She turned her head slowly to look at the door frame, to find him standing there in that black robe she had seen from the corner of her eye. "Barty." she had tried to make her voice sound calm but instead it came out shaking and she could feel her whole body trembling like a leaf just from the sight of him.

"Lose your Gryfindor courage over the week Hermione?" He sounded amused and she wondered how long he had been standing there, if he had been waiting for her to wake up.

She fought to keep her voice from shaking this time, after finding another reason for her to be shivering like she was. "No. I-it was-nightmare." Her voice seemed to have just shaken more and she clamped her jaw shut, hoping he wouldn't see past the lie. The last thing she needed was him knowing the effect he was having on her after everything he had put her through last weekend. Even that fever had been his fault, all those nightmares had been because of him. No matter what he said of it not being neccessary if she had just told him what he wanted to hear in the first place. He still wanted her to tell him about what the Order knew. She couldn't let him know how much going back to that room from hell scared her.

And yet, she was still shivering.

She forced herself to keep her eyes on him, even if it only seemed to make her body shake even more beneath the sheets. He was staring at her, as if considering the words. She resisted the urge to look away from him even as her fingers shook and she curled them under the covers to try and atleast stop their movement. "Is that what it is?"

"What else would it be from?"

He smirked at her words and Hermione felt her heart leapt into her throat. Did he- No. No, he couldn't possibly know the reason for it. When he stepped into the room she focused on keeping herself from moving. Even as he made his way to the bedside, the bed dipping slightly when he sat down on the surface. Her eyes widened in the next moment though, because his hands were suddenly on her and she had to drive the urge to scream down her throat.

His fingers gripped her shoulders, pulling her up from her horizontal position on the bed. One hand dropping only for her to feel his arm around her waist, moving her across the bed toward him. Her back was pressed to his chest in seconds, both arms now secured around her waist, a finger dipping beneath the waistline to rub at her hip bone. She stared down at it, watching the circles being drawn there through... lace. Lace? When had that happened? When had she- Her eyes widened as realization flashed through her. "You changed my clothes."

"Tucked you in bed too, or would you have liked to continue to sleep on the floor? Didn't look very comfortable from where I was standing." She didn't respond at first, her mind still stuck on the fact that he had changed her into something so revealing. It hardly even covered most of her body and was see-through in the thinnest places. The top held in place by a string of lace over each shoulder as it flowed over her to stop where his hands rested. She sucked in a breath after seeing the bottom half stop before so much as touching her thighs, it was much too short, something she would have never imagined herself wearing before this. "Something wrong?"

"You changed my cothes." It was all she could manage to say for a moment. "With magic."

"Yes to the first, no to the second." She stiffened in his grip, bile rising in her throat. Just thinking about him removing each piece of fabric from her body to replace it with this made her feel sick. That his hands had been all over her while she was out cold from exhaustion. The fact that they were on her now, her body pressed against his only made the feeling increase in the pit of her stomach.

Taking in a breath she managed to ask, "Why?" After waiting a few seconds for him to give no response she pressed on, "I'm a muggleborn."

This time there was a low chuckle at her ear. "No. You're _mine_." At first she thought her own skin had crawled at the words, then she felt how his hand had slipped under the top to rest on her stomach. There was a nudge of skin at her left cheek but she was too shocked to fight him, her head moving over to the right, feeling her hair tucked behind her shoulder, slowly as both of his hands were occupied.

She still felt herself tremble from his actions. " _Stop shivering_." The words were soft against her ear but she couldn't stop herself from shaking in his grasp. " _Close your eyes_." For a moment she stared at the sheet of the bed, then the lids of her eyes cast down and she only saw darkness. " _What do you see?_ "

Hermione whimpered softly in her throat not sure what he wanted her to say. The light in the room wasn't bright enough for her to see even with her eyes closed, and besides the dark there was nothing. It took her a second but she forced her mouth to work, "Nothing."

There was another brush of skin over her cheek, rising up along her jaw bone back to her ear in the seconds of silence that followed. The bottom of her earlobe was tugged only slightly, it took her a moment to realize he had gripped it between his lips. " _What do you feel?_ "

She thought over the question for a second, but she must have gotten the last one right or else he wouldn't have asked a different one. If he wasn't looking for a riddle of an answer like she had first believed then it had to be something else simple. She repeated the question in her mind, what do I feel?

Circles were still being rubbed into her hip from his fingers. Her legs ensnared in a rougher fabric than the blankets of the bed, his robe then, one of the legs beneath it lying over her own. Stomach warm from the presence of his skin against her flesh. The repeated press of breath over her cheek, almost rhythmic. Everything she felt was from him in one way or another, her own fingers touching the robe rather than the sheets of the bed that was now beneath her. "You."

Her earlobe was tugged on again and she took it to mean she had answered correctly or atleast in his favor. " _What do you hear?_ "

Focusing on her surroundings she became aware of the crackle of fire from above in the chandelier. The soft pops the flame made as it burned the candles. The wax of which would be sliding down the sides quietly. She would be able to see it if she opened her eyes. Instead she just focused harder and the sound of the fire slowly drew into the background.

It was his breathing that broke the following silence. Softer than a whisper against her skin. She only turned her head ever so slightly, cheek pressing to his robe, hearing the soft rustle of the fabric when she leaned into it. There was another sound beneath that, beating like a steady drum and she focused on it. On his heart. She kept focusing till even that was drowned in silence. Leaving her in the dark, cocooned in his arms, surrounded by dead air.

"Nothing." She whispered in return, barely aware of how her body had stopped shaking. How the span of time between tremors kept lengthening until it was eventually nonexistent.

" _Can you listen to me?_ "

His words peirced the quiet and she didn't say anything for a moment, shocked by the sound. "Yes."

" _Only me?_ "

"Yes."

Lips were pressed to her cheek, then to the bridge of her nose, moving up to settle on her forehead and she leaned into the soft touches. The only other prescence with her in the dark, his voice filling the empty void. The lingering touch at her waist had moved down past the lace to her leg. A nail pressing over the skin, moving slowly across the expanse of flesh, leaving only a soft pleasant feeling behind it that lingered for mere seconds.

" _Do you know my name?_ "

Hermione turned at the feel of his lips now brushing over her left cheek with every syllable spoken. "Barty." The corner of her lips brushed against his and she stopped in her movement.

" _Do you know my full name?_ "

A small thrill ran through her with each brush of those lips and she answered, "Bartemius Nyle Crouch Junior." She paused. "Like the river."

His chuckle ran like streams of water over her skin, down her throat, leaving rivulets crawling down in the pattern of the lace. " _Yes, like the river._ "

She squeezed her eyes shut even tighter, wanting nothing but to focus on those words, to drink them in.

" _Would you like me to tell you about it?_ "

For a moment her lips remained parted. The idea of just listening, of just feeling that nail repeatedly dragged up and down her leg, it was too good to pass up. "Yes, please."

She felt his lips move back up to her ear, brushing over her skin periodically as he had already started speaking in the same soft tones. Soon he was whispering directly into her ear and she drank each word in, a shiver running it's way down her spine as he described each area it passed through so she could picture the lands perfectly even though she had never been to any of them.

The painted landscapes in her mind vanished within seconds after he stopped describing them to her. Leaving her to see nothing but darkness again, mind focusing on the way his hands roamed over her body. The hand on her leg had moved to her arm, the one on her stomach tracing the patterns of the lace ontop of the fabric. She had the overwhelming urge to stay like that, to just sew her eyes shut so she could stay in the darkness with nothing but his whispers to sate her need for company.

His finger had stopped at her shoulder just before he said, " _Show me._ " She hardly had to think to know what he was referring to. Hermione tipped her head toward him, raising a hand to brush her hair over her shoulder, exposing the right side of her neck. His hand trailed up past her shoulder, finger running along the scar, his-and now her's-initial. " _You know what this means?_ "

Of course she did. She had always known the moment he carved it into her skin. "That I'm yours." She shivered when his finger pressed against her collarbone. "Only yours."

" _And?_ " His lips were on her forehead again.

"I'm a part of the Crouch family. That I'm married to you."

For awhile she just felt him tracing the scar over and over again, she was sure it was turning a shade of red. " _I'm going to ask you a few things, and I need you to answer them. Okay?_ "

Hermione took in a slow breath when his hand raised to trace around her breast. "Okay." She whispered.

" _Where does the Order usually have it's meetings?_ "

She opened her mouth but stopped, she tried again a second later before frowning. "I can't say." Even so she tried again, "I... it's in... there's a... a secr-"

" _Shh. Don't strain yourself._ " Fingers trailed through her hair, pressing lightly into her scalp. " _Who's the secret keeper?_ " Her tongue couldn't seem to move for a moment. " _Hermione?_ " She gasped, his fingers had just slid around her throat, tracing little crescents the whole time.

"Mad-Eye."

Those lips pressed at the corner of her closed eye. " _How did you know about Remus?_ "

"He came to the Weasely household when we were discussing-they were discussing marriages. The twins marriages." She paused, feeling her heart start to beat louder as the memory surfaced. "Remus came barging in from the door bleeding, we-they-surrounded him, to try and stop it, the bleeding. I-i-"

" _Hermione,_ " his tongue was tracing her ear, fingers moving over her breast, tracing that scar again, touching at the bite mark, " _come back to me_."

With a soft whimper she followed his voice back to the darkness and away from the grim scene forming in her head. She raised a hand to grasp at the cloth of his robe, to feel his fingers slide over hers barely a second later, leaving her chest feeling cold in it's absence. "Thank you."

" _Can you tell me what he saw?_ "

Her fingers clutched back at his. "A box."

" _Do you know what it looked like?_ "

"Like a puzzle. A puzzle box. They said it emanated dark energy."

" _Who's they?_ "

"Ron and Ginny, they oveheard the Order with a pair of extendable ears."

" _Does anyone else know they were listening?_ "

"They were caught." There was a soft hum in her ear. Parting her lips she began, "I... I compared it to Pandora's box. They said Remus had seen it soaking in some kind of spell."

There was a pause. " _Do they know what it does?_ "

"No. Ron and Ginny don't. The Order might. That's when they were caught."

" _If they come up with something, will you tell me?_ "

"Yes."

" _Promise?_ "

"I promise."

" _I'll hold you to that._ "

She just burrowed into his chest. "My head hurts." Fingers were pressing at her scalp again, moving slowly. Lips pressed to her forehead. "Please, don't ask me anything else Barty."

" _Just one more, okay?_ " She nodded. " _Do you trust me?_ "

Her lips seemed to stay parted for a long time, it felt like hours, though it was really close to a minute. "I..." she took in a breath. "I don't know."

" _Good enough. Go to sleep._ "

A sigh of relief past her lips and she reached her other hand up to curl into his robe, pressing her cheek firmly to the cloth before slipping into a dream.

When her eyes opened she spent a good amount of time staring at the dark fabric infront of her, up until she noticed the way her whole body seemed to be rising and falling in gentle waves. Her eyes raised slowly to see Barty's head leaning against the headboard. His chest still rised in an even manner so her slightl movement obviously hadn't woken him.

The thought of keeping still flew out of her mind before it could really settle there. Hermione just stared at him, her eyes widening every passing second. Her hand moved quickly to clasp over her mouth to keep the scream from bubbling up, a sob still broke through.

She had told him everything, more then she had ever meant too. The words had come freely from her, not a one tortured from her body. Her fingers parted and she sobbed again as her eyes felt hot, tears quickly overflowing to run down her cheeks. She... She raised both her hands to rub at her eyes, to stop the tears, but they still fell. How could she have done that? How could he-

"Hermione?"

Her eyes widened at the realization he was awake and she just cried harder, her whole frame shaking with each sob that racked her body. Raising her hands she pounded at his chest. "I hate you." she repeated with each strike. "I fucking hate you." Another sob racked her body and soon she couldn't get the words out anymore.

His arms had wrapped around her in that time, draped over both her waist and chest, pinning her arms down so they no longer connected with his chest. " _Shh._ " She turned her head, burying her face in it as tears streamed down her face. Something soft was pressed to the top of her head and the tears just came down faster. She kept cryng until finally she didn't have the energy and the world of dreams took her again, still nestled within his arms, clutching at his fingers and wrists.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know a lot of you still have questions on a few things and hopefully this will answer most of them.

Hermione was leaning over a piece of parchment she had laid out flat on the bed, a book placed underneath so she could write with her quil. She had put the stopper in the ink well some minutes ago halfway through writing the essay for Defense Against the Dark Arts, not being able to concentrate.

Everytime she looked at the paper she found it ironic that even after all this studying of defending herself against the dark arts she didn't know a thing about it. The class seemed to be more against dark creatures then the magic itself. Things like werewolves and boggarts. It might as well have been Care of Magical Creatures though with how effective it was.

Not a single lesson had prepared her for what had happened the day before. Being completely and utterly under Barty's control, actually wanting to stay like that, as if it were... some sick twisted version of bliss.

Even now when she closed her eyes she could hear his whispers next to her ear and already found herself missing the warmth from his arms wrapped securely around her. It happened each time she blinked, a phantom of his breath lingering across her skin.

A shiver ran down her spine and she snapped her eyes open to get rid of the feeling. Her hands raised to rub at her arms, fingers hesitating at moving after what he had done before.

She still wasn't entirely sure what he had done. It had been bothering her since she had woken up, having to force her way out of his arms, almost tripping over his legs before making her way to the kitchen as her stomach had growled at her for having not fed it for so long once again. Once her stomach had been full though and she made her way back to the room she had found him gone from the blankets. When looking down the hallway the door to his room had been closed and she had retreated back to her own.

After that she had stayed in her room, door closed to try and keep him out.

Right now she was just staring at the paper infront of her. The third essay she was working on today to try and forget where she was. She had known when she started that it wouldn't last. That eventually doing her homework for school would stop working as a distraction. He was only a few rooms away... She could just get up... She _should_ just get up.

Get up from her bed and stop cowering in her room. At this point Hermione didn't see a reason to lie to herself. She was avoiding him, but when he needed to see her for the requirements of the law she wouldn't be able to keep it up. There was no reason to think a closed door would keep him from getting to her. He had already proved that countless times.

Taking in a breath she pushed up from the bed, not allowing herself to think as she swung her legs over the side and walked to the door, turning the knob to push it open and enter the hall. Not even taking a moment to compose herself she turned the corner walking towards the dark splintered wood of his door.

It was here that she stopped short. Splintered? Looking closer she could see the numerous cracks that hadn't been present before. What the hell had he done? Blow up the door and then stick it back together? It looked like it would fall to a heap of toothpick sized sticks if she knocked on it. If he had destroyed the door why hadn't she heard it?

She felt her nerve lessen and start to fade away as she stared at it. It was possible he was in another bad mood. Just like when he had shattered the flickering light bulb, and then shoved her to the ground moments later... She squeezed her eyes shut to try and forget that memory, to regain the courage she needed to knock on the door. But then his whispers were in her head again,

_"...dead grass pressing right up to the bank...a person painting over their face in black ink...honoring some forgotten god...a stone the color of the night sky covered in hieroglyphs..."_

"Hermione?"

Fingers grasped at her chin and she gasped, eyes flickering open to stare at him. The door was open now, somehow still held together. He was leaning against the frame looking down at her, thumb rolling under her jaw to touch at her throat.

"Barty." Her voice came out odd, in a daze. Soft like when he had been speaking to her.

"What are you doing here Hermione?"

She blinked and would have fallen back into those whispers if a pair of fingers hadn't raised to pinch at her lower lip. What had she been doing here? She racked through her mind to find the answer, slowly focusing back on him. "What..." She drew her tongue over cracked lips and tried again, "What did you do to me?"

There was a faint glimmer of amusement in his eyes that she would have thought to be an illusion if not for his next words, "You'll have to be more specific."

She fought down the frustration rising in her. "The spell you used." At his raised brow she continued with a tremor in her voice, "When you asked me those questions and I...i..."

"Answered them like you're suppose to?" She managed to nod, feeling a tear slide down her cheek.

"What spell was it?" She wanted to-needed-to know. So she could try and look in the library for a counterspell or something to at the very least defend herself against it the next time.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're referring to."

She stared at him, at a loss of words for a moment before yelling, "Stop playing games with me! I want to know what you did to me that I would just tell you the Order's secrets like that! That I would just sit quietly as you molested me!" She barely registered the way his eyes had darkened, all amusment now gone from his expression as she continued to scream, "That you-I almost kissed you!" She missed the way his eyes lowered from her own. "What did you do that would make me do anything like that! To just-just betray my friends on a whim! How could you-"

Her words cut off when his lips landed on her own, pressing so hard she was sure they would bruise. It took her body a moment to register what he was doing and she raised her hands to push at his shoulders, eventually laying a punch on one to stop the preassure on her lips.

Her hand was caught before it could even land, his mouth off hers as he looked down at her, fingers wrapped around the wrist of her curled fist. "You're not doing that again." He forced her arm back down to her side. "Surely you should know by now that I don't need a spell to do anything to you. I can touch you whenever, wherever I want to. A spell is not required for that. If I wanted you to kiss me, you would simply do it without my asking."

"So you imperiod me," she hissed through clenched teeth, "because that's the only way that would ever happen."

Her head hurt in the next second, everything had moved so fast it took her awhile to register all of what had happened. His eyes had narrowed to slits, the preassure on her wrist had spiked to a sharp pain. It was as if the bones in her hand were rubbing against eachother through the sheer force being applied. She wasn't sure her hand could manage anymore pain until he had slammed it up against the wall, whirling her whole frame into the stone. Which had resulted in the now pounding headache that was making her vision swim in black dots. Atleast, she thought thats what it was, his hand around her throat was likely contributing to that factor. There was an angry snarl at her ear. "Watch what you accuse me of. You stupid witch."

If she could manage to get air into her lungs her heart would be hammering by now. As it was she was struggling to draw in breath after breath, to get even a shred of oxygen into her lungs. His voice was even lower when he spoke again, "Do you recall not being able to move your body without a voice telling you to? Did I ever tell you to move, specifically for that matter? Funny thing is, I don't remember ever telling you to lean toward me so that you _almost_ kissed me. What I remember is you doing that of your own freewill. So don't you accuse me of something you did of your own accord. If you think blaming me for your own actions makes them go away you are sadly mistaken."

The grip on her wrist increased and she let loose a low cry, not able to scream fully with the way his hand was clamped along her throat. "There are so _many_ things I could make you do by just _thinking_ that spell. Would you like to experience it first hand? To feel your mind empty of any thoughts that are your own? Would you like for me to fill it with my own? To make you into no more than a _puppet_? I could do it. I could make you stab each of your friends in the gut and watch them bleed out in their sleep and you wouldn't have any other choice than to _obey_. I could make you crawl over hot coals, slice your own skin off. I could order you to your _knees_ , and make you _enjoy_ it. Is that what you want?" Tears slid silently down her cheeks and she tried to shake her head. "Is it?" His lips were tugging at her ear again, pulling roughly at the skin. From the sharp pain there she was sure he had broken the surface. That the warm feeling was blood. " _Answer me_."

The force applied to her throat finally loosened and she gasped in breaths of air, struggling to form a single word. It took her awhile but she managed to form a coherent, "No."

"Are you sure?" This time when her wrist was given a twist she screamed.

"N-no." She struggled to get the word out, each time she opened her mouth to force more air down her throat she tasted salt on her lips. "Barty, please-"

Her head connected with the wall and she gasped, her gaze filling with black blobs that grew from the corners of her vision. A voice whispered in her ear and her field of vision was restored, the feeling returned to her sore limbs. She hated magic then, as the pain was burning through her again. Hermione wished she had been able to black out. "What did I tell you about that word?"

"It-it won't get me anywhere. It holds no weight here." She closed her eyes wanting it all to stop but the whispers didn't come this time. A flutter of panic welled in her chest, steadily growing at this realization. "Barty," she hesitated, not sure what to say anymore. "let me go. You're hurting me."

" _I'm hurting_ _you_?" Laughter filled her ears and she flinched at the sound. "That's funny." His lips grazed her cheek and she stilled, tears rolling down even faster to feel his tongue sweep across the skin, catching each drop.

"Barty-"

"No." She yelped when he tugged her head forward by the hair to direct her back to the stone barely a second later. "You're not getting out of this." Hermione opened her eyes slowly her gaze flickering until settling on his hands tearing at her robe. She was only able to let out a whimper in her throat, regretting it a moment later when his lips were on her neck. "I'm going to make you _scream_ , you silly little girl."

There was a loud rip as the fabric was torn and she fought not to make a single noise, scared of what he would do to her throat if she did. That he might bloody it like her ear when his teeth had been hovering there. She could feel her clothes being torn to shreds, fluttering to the ground beneath her. Soon feeling the cold air on her skin that only seemed to last a second as his hands were moving over her now. Raising her up along the wall. She only struggled when his breath was no longer on her neck trying to ignore the brief rustle of clothes when a hand left her.

She was lowered suddenly, letting loose a scream when he slid into her. His mouth was on her neck again like she had dreaded but she couldn't keep her screams down. Teeth skimming over the skin as his fingers roamed up to her chest. Pinching at her nipples and she could feel the nails pressing against her flesh, leaving little cuts, specks of blood left behind wherever his fingers went.

Every little cut seemed to burn and she tensed with each new mark. There would be a groan at her neck and she would be left screaming when he pounded into her even harder for those moments her whole body had seemed to tighten up.

His hands kept moving over her body, gripping at her hip so hard she already felt sore, already knowing the bruises would be dark for weeks afterwards. Sliding along her back to leave cuts so she yelled even louder when her back met the wall with each thrust.

Then there was the ever present reminder of his mouth on her neck; the way her skin was left wet when his tongue trailed across, a sharp pain when teeth met on her collarbone only to grow hot with each breath that passed over the spot afterward, her skin being pinched together between his lips. Every time his teeth lingered on her throat she could feel her heart pounding in fear.

When he finally bit at her neck she screamed, hands rising up to pound on his shoulders, each tremor just making the feeling worse. Her cries for him to stop fell on deaf ears and she kept hitting at him until she couldn't deal with the added pain it caused, arms falling back to her sides. His tongue moved over the bite mark and she shrieked as terror pounded through her. She had resorted to yelling his name, pleading even as his teeth sunk back into it's mark. A hand wrapped around her jaw, shutting out her screams and she sobbed around the fingers. Her tears only slid down faster, body quivering even though he had stopped moving within her. Forcing her jaw to move, lips parting beneath his fingers she tried again, "Ba-rt-y."

Her jaw was released, his mouth no longer pressed to her neck and she would have slid down the wall if not for his body pressed up against hers. She could hear his breath coming fast and she swallowed nervously, flinching when she felt blood running down her throat. When lips were pressed back to the mark she shut her eyes to open them slowly a second later. It didn't feel like there was a wound on her neck anymore. His breath was redirected to her ear, " _Go back to your room, and stay there_."

When he moved away she gripped at the wall so she didn't fall, only flinching when the door slammed behind him. Even so she didn't need to be told twice and with a hand pressed to the stone she made her way back to her own room, clinging at the wall as she walked as to not fall over.

Hermione slipped quietly back into her room, closing the door so it hardly made a sound she stumbled to her bed, falling down ontop of it with a sigh of relief. She laid there for a a little while, then she turned her head, catching sight of her back in the mirror. Reaching back with a hand she touched at one of the small scars where a bruise was developing next to it. When she brought her hand back she looked over the red flecks on her hand before pushing herself up and off the bed.

She took a quick shower to get rid of the specks of blood, watching the water turn a slight shade of pink and swirl down the drain simply trying not to think about what had just happened. It was clear to her that she had touched on a subject she shouldn't have. That it was something she should avoid from now on.

When she stepped from the shower Hermione stared at her bedroom for awhile. After he had destroyed the only pair of pajamas she had moved into the household she didn't have much choice when it came to apparel. It occured to her that she would need to start bringing some things over so she wasn't stuck in this situation, just wrapped up in a towel.

Besides her school robes there was one other choice... something that wouldn't be so heavy on her skin and therefore less likely to cause her to flinch when the fabric brushed over a bruise. She approached the vanity slowly, pulling open a drawer to spot the lace within. Hermione pulled it out, looking over the blue coloring. It was something she hadn't noticed before, that it was his House color.

She made sure no cuts were bleeding before putting it on, throwing the towel in laundry basket. As she was now dressed in some semblance of the word Hermione got back on the bed, pulling up a thin cover around her before grabbing her quil to resume her work on the essay.

She barely managed a few words before there was a soft knock on her door and her head snapped up. "Yes?" she called hoping he didn't plan on coming in. The knob turned and her heart pounded, practically slamming to a halt when she saw it wasn't him. "Narcissa? What are you doing here?" She regretted the wording, sure it would seem she was being rude even though she was just surprised to see the Malfoy here.

"I came to check on you." Narcissa said as she entered the room, clearly giving the place a look around. "Huh, he didn't change my decor. Do you like it?"

"Yes, thank you." Hermione edged back when Narcissa took a seat at the edge of the bed.

Narcissa must have noticed the action as she asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Hermione said, raising a hand to make sure her hair covered the ear Barty had torn into not wanting questions about it. Even if she did tell Narcissa it's not like she was in a position to help her.

"You don't look fine." For a moment Hermione thought she was going to need to repeat herself when Narcissa asked, "What do your friends think?"

"What?"

"Of your match." Narcissa clarrified. "It may not be true but the Prophet does clear him of being a Death Eater. I thought you would have said something to them."

Hermione blinked. Was she worried that Hermione had let slip that she knew the truth? Or was she just trying to be her mother? Or was it something else? Her mind spun, not able to grip on a single one so she grabbed at all the possibilities she could. "I told them my match was Blaise. He agreed to cover for me because of his own match. I'm not sure on the specifics for his own, but that's the deal we made. I haven't said a thing to anyone about him or the fact that he is a Death Eater, and you can tell Voldemort himself that I'm not going to. I know what happens if I do."

"Oh. I just figured, well." Narcissa was quiet for a moment. "You do know you're the only one that was paired with a Death Eater? The Ministry will be putting pressure on you to reassure everyone that he wasn't involved in the events of your Fourth Year."

"What? Cuthota told me they would keep the change of my name out of the paper."

"I don't know what agreements you made with the Birth, Marriages, and Deaths Department but that's just one arm of the Ministry. It's politicial and having something like that would be seen as good on their part-"

"And the Death Eaters to I assume? Is that why you're here? To tell me to go and just announce my marriage publicly?" The mere idea that either of them would have the nerve to use her in a political gamble was more than enough to make her body tremble in anger.

"No. I'm just telling you what actions the Ministry is considering. It's just what one of my contacts had been hearing and I thought you should know. I also thought it would be easier if you took the first step. Which is why you should probably tell your friends before the Ministry finds a way to work around your agreement with a minor department."

"Tell me friends? I can't tell my friends!" Narcissa looked as if she was going to say something but Hermione plowed on, her voice getting louder by the second, "How can you not understand that? You've seen this law!" There was a distant slam of a door that she couldn't hear over her own screaming, "You must have looked over it yourself to get Draco out of it or find some loophole but there is none! I'll be damned if I see my friends thrown in Azkaban for three years just for trying to force me out of my marriage! And that's exactly what's going to happen if I tell them! They won't just sit there with the knowledge! They'll try to get me out and get themselves imprisoned or worse! I won't let that happen! The Order needs them!"

"Narcissa." the low voice coming from the door made both of them look up, "Get out of my house. Now." Barty was standing in the frame glaring at the older Malfoy who was slowly rising from the bed.

"I was just telling Hermione-"

"Out. And consider your invitation invalid from now on." Narcissa glanced to Hermione but she just turned her gaze away silently hoping she would just leave without saying another word to her.

"Fine."

She listened to the sound of Narcissa's foosteps until there was the crackle of fire from the floo. It was then she noticed the way her hands had curled into the sheets and she loosened her grip quickly. The bed dipping made her look up, eyes widening to see Barty sitting there barely a foot away. "No."

"No?" he mocked the trembling tone in her voice as he moved further up the bed until he was resting against the pillows. "Come here." Her lips parted to object but his arm was already around her waist and forcing her down to him. There was a brush of skin on her ear a second later and she raised her hand to find the teeth marks gone. His fingers were soon on her jaw and she followed the path they had taken with her own. The cuts she had felt before along with the sore feeling that only came from a developing bruise was gone as well. "Take off your clothes."

She hesitated for only a second before gripping the strands of lace at her shoulders, pushing them down her arms one at a time flincing slightly when it touched cuts on her arms. His hands grabbed the hem afterward, pulling the top up and over her head and then tugging the bottom down to her legs leaving her to kick the garmet off. His hands were already on her chest and stomach, the scars disapearing with each touch. With her front healed she rolled over, pressing her chest to his and closed her eyes as she felt his fingers moving over her back, healing the last few scars on her body.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mind if I throw in some firecrackers?

After going through Narcissa's words in her mind over and over again, to still not quite believe what she had heard Hermione currently sat at the little table in the corner of the living room looking over the letter she had written to Cuthota. No matter how she looked at it the Ministry should not be able to just pull her into their politicial agenda. She didn't want to be part of it, to have her _changed_ name in the papers.

Now if she were given the opportunity to just lie to the Ministry itself about Barty not being a Death Eater anymore that would be fine. But the way Narcissa described it it seemed they wanted to make a publicity stunt out of it. That was something she couldn't deal with. It wasn't something she could let them do. Not to her. The Ministry had already taken the public outrage blow when it was announced Barty had been released from Azkaban, and now they wanted a quick solution it would seem since people were still not convinced. Either those people were smart or paranoid. Either way she was going to do everything she could to stay out of it.

First though she needed to know what extents they would go to. It wasn't directly related to the marriage but Cuthota should still be able to help since he was the one she had made the last name arrangement with. Plus he was a Supervisor, that had to count for something in the Ministry hierarchy.

Slipping the letter into an envelope she glanced towards Barty.

He had ordered Narcissa away after she had told Hermione about the Ministry's plans. Was he even aware of what they had been talking about or had he just been in a mood? It was hard for her to figure it out, harder since he hadn't said a word about the subject even though she had been yelling at the top of her lungs. For him to not know the subject of their conversation would be suspicious in her book. Him not saying anything just made her more convinced that he knew something about it.

His form sitting on the couch shifted and she turned quickly aware he had caught her looking when she saw him staring at her from the corner of her eye. Taking a breath she glanced to the enclosed letter before looking back at him. "Is there an owl I can use?" She would rather not have to use Hedwig again without notifying Harry beforehand and judging from the talk around the school the Owlery was empty and would be for awhile with most people still making plans.

"Don't have an owl."

At first she wasn't sure she had heard him right. When she thought about it though it made sense. The mark on his arm would communicate when Voldemort needed to speak with him and he didn't appear to have a cover job where an owl would be needed for communication. "Well, didn't your father have an owl?" Surely there was one somewhere and if anyone used owl correspondence it would have been his father.

"He did." She bit her lip, not missing the suggestion made from his use of past tense. His hand made a motion and the book on the coffee table closed with a thud. Hermione resisted the urge to jump out of the chair at the sudden noise. "Why do you want to know?"

Her lips pulled down slightly, not sure if he was being annoying on purpose or not. "Because I need to send this letter to Cuthota about what Narcissa was talking about. I'm not going to let the Ministry use our relationship in their messed up politics."

"You've married into a Pure Blood family, either way you'll have to deal with the Ministry and it's 'messed up politics.'" If she wasn't so focused on him she wouldn't have noticed the casual flick of his wrist, a single finger motioning for her to come over. Her hands clutched at her jeans for a few seconds before she forced herself to relax. Hermione pushed up from the chair, aware of his gaze on her as she walked over to sit on the couch beside him. She tensed just a moment after when his fingers trailed up her arm.

"Barty," she kept her voice low while trying to think of something that would turn his attention away from her, or rather her body. "why did you send Narcissa away?"

The fingers hesitated for only a second before continuing on their path. "Why were you yelling at her?" She frowned, wishing he would answer her question first for once. "Let me rephrase, didn't you want her to leave?" Hermione couldn't manage anything else than parting her lips because she had wanted Narcissa to leave while she was shouting at her, but she didn't want Barty to know that. After another second of silence passed she glanced towards him to look away just as quickly. She didn't care for the way his hand kept moving along her arm, but she really would rather have not seen the way his eyes had been focused on her lips just now. Noticing they were still parted she clamped her lips shut. "That's what I thought."

"Did you know about the Ministry's plans?" she asked, wanting to distract herself and force her most recent memory from her mind. It was making her thoughts wander back to the past few days.

"The Ministry doesn't have any plans concerning you or me. Narcissa's contact is hardly high up on the command chain. They may want to use you for their politicial agenda but they have no plans to do so. You signing that agreement with Cuthota is what is stopping them from taking any immediate action."

Hermione looked to the letter in her lap, purposely avoiding his gaze. "So they can't actually do anything then?" That's not what Narcissa had said.

"Nothing that mentions your marriage to me. As long as that topic is avoided they can do whatever they think will further their own agenda. Right now though they don't have a single idea how to use either of us. So I wouldn't worry about it if I were you."

That relaxed her somewhat. As odd as it was Barty hadn't lied to her yet, and this did effect both of them to some degree so she doubted he would start now. Especially after reprimanding her all those times about her own lack of honesty. "I should send the letter. If the Ministry does have plans Cuthota should know about it then, right?"

"Yes." She turned her head away slightly when his finger was on her cheek. There was a grip on her chin a second later, making her face him, though she kept her eyes lowered. "Hermione," She kept her gaze firmly on a thread of the couch inbetween them. "you going to look at me?"

"No." The word came out in a whisper. She squeezed her eyes shut, but the feel of his skin on hers was still there, and the whispering in her mind wasn't loud enough for her to hear. "Surely you Death Eaters could have picked someone else to get information out of other than me?"

"Someone besides you? A best friend of Harry Potter himself?" When he put it that way her question had been a stupid one to ask.

"I wish..." she took in a slow breath so she could force the words out, "I wish I had been thrown in Azkaban." Instead of having to marry you, she barely contained those last words, not wanting a repeat of yesterday's events. The only thing she could hear was his breathing, which seemed to have gotten louder. She forced the whimper to stay in her throat.

"Does that decision also have to do with protecting your friends?" It certainly would have made it easier. That family wouldn't have died because of her. "Would you really be satisfied sitting in a cell for a year while Voldemort goes about killing them?" Her shoulders tensed. No, that was something she would never be able to live down. "Shall I assume you would have liked to stay known as Hermione Granger?"

"I still am Hermione Granger." She wasn't able to hold back the anger in her voice. "Changing my last name doesn't change who I am."

His chuckle just made her shoulders raise. "Indeed." The following silence made her bite at her lip nervously. It was almost enough to make her open her eyes but she managed to keep them shut. "Bellatrix used to be less insane."

Her heart thundered in her chest. "What's that suppose to mean?"

His breath was suddenly hot on her ear, running down her cheek. "Do you really think I would let you go insane? You can wish all you like, but you _will_ deal with reality. Is that understood?" Her whimper slipped out this time only to feel skin running along her cheek shortly after, it felt as if he was nuzzling her flesh... "I believe we've discussed this before. You're _mine_ , and you're going to stay mine. So don't be thinking that running to Azkaban will do you any good."

"I'm not running." she muttered, trying to turn her face away from him but his grip on her chin only tightened. "It was just a thought."

"Then, _don't ever think about it again_." The way his voice lowered to a tone remnant of a growl made her skin crawl.

"I'm not going to go insane." Hermione slowly opened her eyes, breath catching at his close proximity. It only served to remind her of Saturday, not exactly her least liked day of this weekend, but it brought up things she would rather not think about again. She licked her lips unconsciously, heart beating loud in her ears.

Just turn a bit more, like last time, more than last time. That's all she would need to do. Her head was already turning, the fingers no longer a hindrance as they had fallen away from her chin. _Just once._

It repeated in her head just like it had on Saturday. _Just once, without being forced._

Her eyes were almost closed when she stopped turning, breath mingling with his. It was the only thing she could hear. She leant forward slowly, backing off once before inclining until her lips pressed to his. They were as soft as she remembered and she parted her lips not allowing herself to think too much as her tongue darted out to run along his lips in a single slow motion. When she felt his lips part her kiss was hesitant, breath shaking as she tilted her head ever so slightly. She put a bit more force into it this time, kissing along his upper lip, tongue drawing over the bottom one, never venturing further than that.

_Tick._

The old clock chimed when it hit the hour mark, Hermione's eyes shot open. Her breath came quick as she was suddenly looking directly into his eyes. She was in motion a second later, jumping up from the couch and grabbing her school robe. Her hand went to the pocket just as she took a fist of floo powder, checking her wand was there while leaving the letter. It was. She flung the powder down so green flames sprung up around her.

A second later she was walking out of the Gryffindor fireplace, surprising a few first procrastinators hurrying to write essays due that morning.

"Hermione!"

She whirled at the sound of her name to feel arms wrap around her a moment later. Ginny was grinning at her and she had to surpress the feeling of guilt that ran through her. To be kissing Remus' attacker hardly a minute before and then being hugged by her friend. It didn't feel right. "Hey, Ginny." She wished her voice sounded more enthusiastic though Ginny didn't seem to notice.

"It's so good to see you back! So you just use the floo network to go see Blaise? Stay with your parents during the night?"

"Umm yeah." Hermione managed to get out as Ginny had already started moving to the door leading out onto the moving staircases. Where were all these questions suddenly coming from?

Ginny was giving her on odd look now though that they were on the platform. "Did you stay over at his place?"

Hermione's mouth practically dropped. "What? No!" How could she even think that?

Her friend only laughed though. "I didn't mean it seriously. There's enough rumors going around about it though. You wouldn't believe how crazy they keep getting. The things these gossipers come up with." There was a pause. "You did look kind of dazed when you came in. What were you doing?"

Her heart practically stopped. Having to tell her that-she couldn't. She needed an excuse, but her mind was drawing a blank. "Uh-Harry! Ron!" She waved when she saw the two descending the stairs, heading toward them. That was a little odd. It was only the morning, had they been sneaking around the castle again?

"Hey Hermione. Have you heard about the prank the Slytherins are doing? On the whole school? Today?"

She blinked. Since when was that news? Though a prank on the whole school was quite ambitious even for them, and she had no doubt Malfoy was apart of it. "No. What is it?"

"No idea." Ron said with a grin.

"I thought it was only on the first years?" Ginny asked her brother.

"What effects one year effects all years." Ron glanced to Hermione then. "Please tell me you realize that since Blaise is friends with Malfoy he's probably apart of it as well." She had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. "I'm just saying, Hermione. Your to-be husband is a two-faced git."

"That's very mature of you Ronald." She patted him on the shoulder before turning and starting down the stairs. "I'll give you six points for originality."

"What? I deserve twenty!"

The sound of her friends laughter followed her down the stairs to the next platform where Harry moved into the hallway. Seeing the others going down the hall she followed, wondering why they were taking the long route to the Great Hall.

"So we were thinking while you were gone-" Ginny began, turning to face Hermione while walking backwards.

"And looking through the library." Ron cut in.

Ginny continued as if he hadn't said a thing, not even glancing at her brother, "-about that puzzle box and what you said. About it being like Pandora's box, and we found that in ancient times-like Egypt-that the witches and wizards of those times would use puzzle boxes to hide all sorts of things inside them. Like a safe. A combination between magic and puzzle-solving was used to open them. So with that we figured-"

"That the box contained some item within it, like a weapon."

Ginny turned swiftly to look at who had spoken. "I expect this from Ron, not you Harry."

Harry just smiled while Ron laughed. "It goes with your theory though. Ron actually found the information."

"Yeah. By the way, thanks for stealing my spotlight mate."

Hermione let out a laugh with Ginny. It was all great news, but she still wasn't sure she should be hearing about it. Then again, the idea itself wasn't a big stretch and it's not like they knew what was inside. Information like this was probably something the Death Eaters knew about- "So those spells they were casting was to open it, not charge it."

"Exactly." Ginny said with a nod, doing a little skip before walking again. "Essentially you need to say a phrase through magic, different spells to make the phrase and then in the right order. That's how most of them are opened. There's a few odd balls that are a bit more tricky that have an extra phrase or need more than one witch or wizard present to open, but other than that it's pretty simple." Ginny paused. "Well, simple once you solve the puzzle. Otherwise according to the books their a pain to crack open. Sometimes they even unleash energy at a wrong spell, or certain ones that are far off from what the box requires to open. It's a risky business opening them."

"Which explains why there was so many Death Eaters there. Since they're putting so much man power into it I would say they know it's a weapon, but maybe-probably, not what it is. Unfortunately without knowing what the box looks like we can't figure out what ancient civilization it came from." Harry explained.

"It would help if we knew what language they were speaking in for the spells. Remus would know, and he is getting out of hospital today." Hermione blinked. He had been in there for over a week? "The nurses kept him there. Something about making sure no whiplash came back from the spells."

She grimaced. What the hell had Barty done to Remus? Whiplash from a spell after this amount of time? What twisted dark magic had he cast? Then again, she really didn't want to think about it. When she did it just made her blood run cold, she could see her friends bodies twitching on the ground from her dream again, hear her own desperate cry for Barty to stop as he tortured them. The color of blood painted over walls, a stinging pain on-

"Hermione." A pair of hands landed on her shoulders and she barely managed to keep in a pained cry when she saw it was Ginny standing infront of her. "Are you okay?'

It took her a moment to steady her breath, all too aware of Ron and Harry giving her worried looks. "Yeah. It-I've just been having nightmares lately... sorry."

"It's nothing to apologize about." Harry assured her, to which Hermione just gave a small nod of her head. "You want to talk about it?"

She could feel her face go pale. "No. I-I don't want to think about it. I can't."

"Okay, okay. Calm down." Ginny's hands slipping from her shoulders down her arms in a comforting gesture only made her think of Barty's fingers moving over her skin not to long ago and she shivered. "Let's just go to the Great Hall and have some breakfast, that should make you feel better."

Hermione gave another nod, slipping her hands from Ginny's when her friend glanced away for a moment. Her friends engaged in a conversation about the new Gryffindor Quidditch team, after awhile Harry had slipped out of it, and Hermione didn't fail to notice that he had slowed his pace to walk beside her.

"Has everything been going okay? With you and Blaise I mean."

She glanced to him, catching his eye before looking forward again as they walked. "Yeah, it's fine, really."

"What about your parents? How have they been about it?"

Her pace slowed further at this question. She had been avoiding thinking about it, even though she needed to do something about that, especially after what she had told her mother... Taking in a breath she muttered, "We got into a fight. I told my mother-" Hermione stopped herself short, letting out a small laugh. What she had said had been a mistake. She was thankful her parents didn't have a way to contact her in the wizarding world. If her mother knew about howlers she surely would have gotten one, and that would have been plain embaressing. Not to mention all the implications that would cause. "I lied to her, about where I with the marriage law. She's probably been freaking out these last fews days, crying and... everything. About her daughter being a mother to soon."

Harry was silent for a moment and then, "You didn't say you were pregnant did you?"

That caused her to laugh. "No, no. Just... I told her I was married because she wasn't listening to what I was saying. I just... blew up I guess." It wasn't a complete lie, but she certainly couldn't tell him. She couldn't risk Harry getting himself thrown in Azkaban because of her.

"Maybe if they speak with the Weasleys they'll understand it more?'

"Maybe." she agreed. It was something she could try atleast. When she got around to clearing up the slipped out truth. Her dad was probably going just as crazy as her mother...

_Boom!_

Her head shot up, looking toward the entrance of the Great Hall. "That must be from the prank the Slytherins are pulling."

"Harry, how did you and Ron know they were doing it today?" she asked, glancing toward him.

The corner of his lip twitched up. "We overheard some other Slytherins talking about it just last night while sneaking into the... well." He grinned at her as they entered the Great Hall, obviously not going to finish that sentance where other students could hear. It didn't take much for her to guess where they had gone though after everything they had told her.

Her gaze moved to the Great Hall as a collection of laughter and screams filled the air. A group of first years had just dived under the nearest table from what appeared to be a black blob flying through the air. She didn't necesarily find that strange though after everything she had seen the Slytherins pull. It was the fact that more than just the Slytherin table was laughing. Most of the higher years were laughing as well, shooting spells at the whirling black so it went zipping from one end of the room to the next in seconds. That and the Professors already sitting at the long-end table were oddly enough not doing anything to stop it.

The reason for that came clear when it finally stopped long enough to form a shape in front of a first year, having been directed by one of the Slytherins' spells. It had formed into a butterfly and the kid shrieked and hid behind the nearest student who was practically clutching their stomach as they laughed.

A friend to their right let out a shout and the butterfly landed on the Hufflepuff bench, twirling once more before forming a bear, the bench cracking under the weight. The roar that was let loose was soon drowned from the constant laughter in the room.

Hermione couldn't resist rolling her eyes as the bear twisted into something else only to be hit by a spell mid-change. Ginny and Ron openly laughed infront of them as they made their way to the Gryffindor table, ducking once when the creature sailed past their heads.

"Incoming!" A playful shout erupted to her right and she slammed to a halt as something with wings crashed to the ground barely a foot away. The pixie raised it's head slowly still looking dazed even as it growled at the children around it, gaze moving around the crowd before settling on Hermione. It bared small fangs as the boggart's form twisted once again.

She felt a wave of dread wash over her before it even solidified. Just before the black wisps collected together into a robe, a pair of dark familiar eyes looking at her, the mouth-his mouth-twisted into a grin, tongue swiping at the side just as it had back in fourth year.

A scream pierced the air, though her own mouth was clamped shut. She could feel her blood running cold, knew her face was pale as she stood stock still.

Even when he had disapearred as the creature blurred once again a part of her was still convinced he had really been there. A single thought of why? And, is he real? Wandered through her mind when the Dementor came out to be transformed into a tap dancing coat at Harry's shouted, "Riddikulus!"

A hand was on her wrist in the next second, leading her to an empt seat of the Gryffindor. She wasn't sure when she had swung her legs over the bench but she must have as she was now sitting down.

"Bloody Slytherins." Harry muttered to her left.

Ron went on to agree and she lowered her head into her hands, closing her eyes. It didn't take long for her to dissolve into the whispers in her mind, feeling a ghost of skin on hers, surrounded by nothing.

Her body was being shaken almost violently when she forced her eyes open. "Hermione-" Ginny hissed, "Oh! Good, you looked out of it. Are you okay?"

She was silent for a moment as she saw Ginny looked worried. "Yeah. Where... where did it go?" The laughter from before wasn't there anymore, instead it was just the noise from normal conversations flying around the room.

"McGonagall got rid of the boggart and said she was going to talk to Professor Snape about the Slytherins and a punishment for those involved in bringing it into the Great Hall."

"They should be expelled." Ron proclaimed while stabbing a fluffy egg with his fork.

Ginny sighed. "I explained to her that you had been having nightmares after what happened at my house."

"Thanks." Hermione managed, reaching out to grab a glass of juice and take a sip. She didn't want to think about it anymore, she needed something normal, like getting food into her body. Before she could take any food and put it on her plate there was a soft hoot just before an owl landed on the table. The varying shades of soft grey feathers ruffled for a moment after.

"It seems we got a straggler."

"Atleast it can land." Harry said as he glanced toward Ron.

Hermione ignored the bickering that came from the comment on Ron's family owl, her eyes on the blue wax keeping the letter enclosed that was tied to it's leg. Ravenclaws' color, his color. She reached out hesitantly to take it, the owl ruffling it's feathers again, not moving from the table as she broke the seal to read the contents.

_Will this suffice?_

"What is it?"

Hermione slowly closed the parchment containing the short note. "It... it's mine." At the curious look she was getting from her friends as well as a few of the students sitting near them she clarified, "My owl."


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New pov!

The Weasley girl was looking over at their table after an owl had landed. Daphne only took note because it was late for any owls to be arriving. Now though she was wondering why some of the Gryffindors were shooting looks at the Slytherin table.

Only two reasons came to mind, either they were still angry at the whole House after a select few had tricked a boggart into the Great Hall, or a new rumor of her fiance and Granger had started up again. She didn't care for the latter. It would be nice if everyone just let it go, she supposed they kept romanticizing it because of the difference in blood status. That the ritual had set them together despite even that. Supposedly being the key word here. It would be nice when she saw their faces when the truth came out.

Just not yet. She still wasn't ready for that. To have everyone staring at her, not even seventeen yet and already matched. She had expected to be out of Hogwarts for a few years before being married. Once she turned of age four months would be given for her to wed. In that way she considered herself lucky, getting to have more time to know Blaise before any of it happened.

The marriage, the marriage night itself.

That was something neither of them had talked about since he had come to her, seemingly appearing out-of-the-blue. Another reason she was lucky. He hadn't just gone and told everyone about his match before she even knew herself. He had told her before even telling his best friend Draco. That had certainly been a moment to change her life, and Daphne would always remember every detail of it.

_Her steps made no sound as she rounded a corner, dodging Filch's cat. The furry beast, it should have stayed petrified since her second year. It was a bloody menace, always lurking about and then yowling loudly to startle anyone sneaking about the castle at night._

_Kind of like she was now. Darting to shadows and remaining out of the moonlight when she had to pass by windows. Running down the stairs back into the dungeons, snaking her way back to the entrance of the Commons and slipping inside with a triumphant grin._

_The embers of the dying fire was the only light as she descended the last few steps to the stone floor. She moved over to the hearth, hands hovering over it to soak in the remaining bit of warmth._

_Her hand trailed to her pocket not long after, seeking out the artifact she had found in the room beyond a plain wall. A soft knock made her turn her head, to look into the gloom and see one of her fellow classmates was still up. "Is there a reason you're hiding in the shadows, Zabini?" she had moved her hand away from her side as she spoke, standing back up as she frowned at him. Draco's friend and one of the reasons that Slytherins were jinxed in the halls after a particularly nasty prank. Probably the main reason she had gotten so good at dodging them in the past few years._

_"Can we talk?"_

_Her brow furrowed. What a silly request to make of her. They were already talking anyway, why ask? "What could you possibly have to talk to me about?"_

_"Somewhere with less ears."_

_He soon passed by her, going to the door and out of the Commons, not looking back once. As if he expected for her to follow him. As if she cared to talk to him. Even if they were in the same House, it didn't mean she had to associate herself with him. Though, his tone of voice suggested it was important, urgent, something she would want to know._

_She followed him a second later, back out of the home of the snakes, into the halls. Her feet led her to the right, to an open door of a room regularily used by all Syltherins for meetings. An obvious choice considering how late it was. There were others like it but it was far too late to use them._

_Her hand wrapped around the handle, closing the door behind her. "So, what is it then?"_

_He had only reached out his hand, a piece of paper rolled inbetween his fingers. She took it after a moment, took out her wand and muttered, "Lumos." to create a soft light so she could see the words._

_Blaise started speaking even when she was only beginning to skim the letter, "I recieved it just an hour ago. I would have told you sooner but you weren't in the Commons or your room." She had begun to frown as she listened to him, wondering why this was so important that it shouldn't have been put off for even an hour. "You'll probably want to send a letter to your parents afterwards, I can show you a quick route to the owelry."_

_She was about to ask why she would do such a thing when she spotted her name. Her name right after the paper talked of a system, a pairing. In other words the ritual and given match._

_For a moment her mouth didn't work, stunned to see this infront of her. Stunned even further that she hadn't recieved a letter about this. "You get a letter, but I don't?" Her gut twisted. "You think that's acceptable?"_

_He shook his head. "No, that's why I'm telling you. The Ministry would have sent yours when you turned seventeen." His head inclined to the paper and she glanced back down, now reading through it quickly in the silence._

_She could almost see her world turn to glass and shatter around her. "They wouldn't have said a thing till my birthday?" Ridiculous. She scoffed a moment later, "_ You _get to choose to tell me or not about the arrangement before then? What-pricks! The lot of them!"_

_"Yes, as you can see I didn't agree with them-"_

_"Good. Filthy little codgers," she blinked when he hadn't said anything and glanced up to see he looked slightly amused in the light from her wand. "What?"_

_"You have a very filthy mouth yourself."_

_She narrowed her eyes at him just before she laughed, "Show me to the owelry, Blaise Zabini, or I'll be calling you a codger next."_

Looking back at the table now she frowned. They were still focusing on them, inclined heads obviously intended for whispering. She met each of their gazes until they stopped, then glanced towards Blaise, sitting a few spaces down from her own seat.

It would be odd if they were suddenly seen together, even more so now with the agreement between him and Granger. During the week anyways, it was pure luck that they had every weekend together. Thanks to whoever was Granger's real match.

She found herself curious of who it was. Why Granger would hide the man she was to be married to. At some point she would know, along with everyone else. Perhaps a day after she tells Blaise she's ready to have it brought out to the open. That would interest her greatly.

**/ / /**

_Mum,_

_I know I should have wrote back sooner but with everything happening in the Wizarding World its been a bit hectic, and hard to find an owl, until today that is. I'm sorry about what I said, from before, it's not true. You can ask the Weasley's yourself if you don't believe me. I'm sure they'll invite you to the twins' marriages._

Her quil hesitated, because it had been the truth. It was now that she was lying to her mother, and father as he was sure to read the letter as well. She sighed, glancing out the window to her right to look over the school grounds.

From here in a corner of the library she got a nice view of the Forbidden Forest. That and hardly anyone came to this section, which made it least likely for anyone to find her here.

Her friends were somewhere else within the large room, looking for more information about the puzzle box. This little area was her sanctuary. So she didn't have to hear anymore of their ideas. Of course, she had a backup if they did find it. The Room of Requirement would always be the first on that list. They could look at their Marauder's Map as much as they wanted but wouldn't find her no matter what. That was only for Friday though, because they would think she had already left with Blaise for the weekend. If she did it any other day then one of them would figure it out eventually and find her.

She turned her gaze back to the parchment and took hold of the quil once again. As she wrote more lies and told them what truths she could-like her new owl-her mind went to the fast approaching weekend. These days it always seemed to come too fast and just like all the other times she didn't know what to expect when she got there.

The main question was what mood he would be in when she got there. It was entirely possible that the Order might make fools of the Death Eaters during the week, the day before the weekend, or even the other way around. Each possibility could very well give her an idea of what would happen.

He might just have her in his lap like he had most of last weekend, touching her skin every second. Considering everything else he might do she prefered that. It was better than being tortued or sick anyways.

Setting her quil aside she rolled the parchment up and attached it to the greater sooty owl's leg. She popped the window open a moment later and watched as he flew out before closing it.

It was likely her mother would send a letter screaming and apologizing at the same time. Unless it was her father, then she would probably be asked to come directly to the house to explain the law. Thing was, she had already described it to her mother and let the truth slip out in the start of an argument. If she went back there was a chance it would happen again. Which was unacceptable.

Hermione leaned back into her seat, closing her eyes.

She could hear his voice again, not the individual words from Saturday but a simple flow of words that seemed to melt together. It was calming and she was still unsure how this couldn't be a spell he had cast. Surely there was some dark magic that did this. She could always get another request form from Slughorn to go into the Restricted Section and look it up instead of whatever was written down. The reason she didn't was because it didn't feel like a spell, and she didn't believe it was, that he would do something that manipulative.

It would be a low blow, lower than taking her into that torture room. Atleast she hadn't seen the inside of it again on her last visit. She hoped to keep it that way. She didn't want to know what else he had in there.

She opened her eyes to chase away the flames flickering behind her closed lids that had begun to form as the memory surfaced. Hermione wrapped her arms around her body, rubbing lightly at her arms to stop the cold feeling that had settled there. She found the action oddly comforting, perhaps she gotten used to it. Or it was simply the memory of last Saturday that made her think that.

Barty had been doing the same thing on Monday morning as well, she distinctly remembered not liking it then, so decided it was the latter. Though with the way her mind was going it just kept drawing up more memories. Like when his fingers moved along her back, thin scars closing at their touch, pushing her naked form against his robed one, eyes half-closed as she listened to his heart beat beneath it, him not saying a word even when she felt every scar was gone and it was just his hand moving up and down her back...

Her hands stopped moving as she stared down at the desk, breath catching as her mind spun. He had been silent that entire time, but all those lingering fingers had spoken for him. Whispering over her skin, sometimes seeming to carve the letters on her, _sorry_ , again and again.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment if you like the story.

Her footsteps echoing down the hall was all she heard as she walked. Usually she would hear more pairs of shoed feet on the stone, students speaking in a variety of tones depending if they cared if someone heard what they said or not. Though anyone close enough in passing would hear the soft whispers. It was gossip, most of the time. She always walked too quickly to hear what they were saying anyways. Simply not caring.

Right now though the quiet sent a shiver down her spine.

Why did Barty have to pick such an odd time for the 'timed portkeys' to go off? Why did he have to put the spell on earrings? To force her to wear them? What was the spell?

She had looked in the library for answers to most of those questions, the ones a book could answer. But she hadn't found anything. There was no mention of making a portkey 'timed'. It was simply 'activated' when someone touched the object with the spell cast upon it.

Hermione must have tried a million times to simply activate it as she studied the spell that made portkeys. Nothing had worked. No matter how she had touched the earrings, where she touched them, they just wouldn't make the world spin. It was frustrating. It still frustrated her. Not a single book-and every book that mentioned portkeys was accessible, there was none in the Restricted Section on the subject-had helped in her search. Either he was using the term portkey when the earrings were no such thing, or he had tweaked the spell for his own purposes.

Honestly, she wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter. After seeing the marks in the yearbook for herself and the fact that he casted a multitude of spells without saying a word-or even using a wand-she wouldn't put it past him.

She stopped short at one of the windows overlooking the courtyard. The sky above was showing just a tinge of gray as dawn approached. As five o'clock drew near.

Her fingers clutched at the small bag at her side, carrying a few things to take up room in the dresser as well as a few things for her bathroom. She hadn't bothered with any pajamas she liked though, not wanting another one to get torn up. Hoping another one wouldn't end up getting torn from her body.

Raising a hand she pressed her fingers to the glass, cold seeping into her skin as she pressed her palm to the cool surface. The clock stationed high above rung at the top of the hour and Hermione kept her eyes open to watch as the world stayed gray, swirling around her, the color draining around her, becoming darker when the spinning finally stopped. There was no gray light spilling onto the floor boards and she sighed. This place wasn't even in the same timeframe as Hogwarts. It made her wonder where she even was. Of course Barty would only say it was their home.

With a sigh she stepped from the fireplace-

Seeing her bag land several feet in front of her wasn't the thing that made her stop. It wasn't even the sting on her hand when it was knocked from her grip. It was the fingers curled around her wrist, keeping her in place. A pair of dark eyes looking down at her when she turned her head.

"Barty?" Something must have gone wrong while she was away. "Please, let go of me." Her wrist had started to hurt but she didn't dare pull it toward her. In her previous experience that wouldn't help her situation, and she would rather stop this before it reached that point. "Whatever happened it was the Order. I didn't do anything-"

There was a soft snort that had made her stop short. "Already pleading for your mistake? You make a lousy Crouch." She stared at him. Mistake? What mistake? He must have seen the confusion in her eyes, the way her lips parted to ask as his other hand was soon covering her mouth. "I won't hear it." There it was. That growl beneath the words.

She cringed, drawing back only to have her wrist pulled on to keep her from getting any further away. "Please," Hermione attempted to speak around the hand on her mouth, "don't do this." _Not again._ The feel of his hand seemed to have relaxed and she raised a hand to pull his fingers slowly from her mouth so she could speak clearer. A sense of relief went through her when he did nothing to stop her movements. "Barty, I don't know wha-" The way his eyes darkened quicky made her try another tactic, "Whatever it is that has upset you... I'm sorry, but don't take it out on me." She paused, trying to gauge what she should say next as his expression hadn't changed in the least. "I don't have anything to do with it. I was at school the whole week-"

"Hermione," she pressed her lips together, wondering if it had worked as his voice didn't sound particularly angry. "you are terrible at manipulating people. So don't try it on me."

Her heart seemed to drop directly into her stomach, getting slowly eaten away by the acid. "I-I'm not. I swear, Barty. I just-" she closed her eyes for a moment to try and rein in her thoughts, to stop the panicked rush of words spilling forth from her. "I don't know what you want me to say." Opening her eyes she looked at him but he wasn't saying anything, he seemed like he was waiting for her to say the right words even when she obviously kept failing at doing so. She sighed, trying to think of what he could possibly be talking about but quickly gave up. It's not like she could read his mind. What the hell did he expect? "What mistake did I supposedly make?" she snapped at him in frustration.

The moment those words were out she wished she could take it back. If she hadn't made a mistake before she had now. For a second she could see him glaring at her and then her whole body was spun around to be shoved forward and she stumbled, landing on the couch. She sucked in a breath to refill her lungs, trying to even out her breathing as she heard him walking over. A whimper escaped her just before a hand grabbed her leg just below the knee, dragging her back toward him.

"You want to know what I want you to say?" She twisted her head to look at him over her shoulder, upon seeing his gaze she knew the question was rhetorical. "I don't want you to speak _at all_." His hand made a casual flicking motion and she felt cold a moment later. Her eyes widened and she kicked back at him with her other leg to feel a hand grab at her thigh as her body was pulled over the arm of the furniture.

"No!" A hand left her leg to wrap around her jaw a second later after her shout.

"What did I just say Hermione?" His grip made the bone beneath her skin throb. If bones could actually get a bruise she was sure she could feel them developing. " _Not a word_." Her lips that had been trembling in their attempt to get something, anything out stopped abruptly at his words. He must have been satisfied with that reaction as he let go, his hand moving down to her throat and she closed her eyes unable to stop the whimpers as the hand on her leg trailed up, no longer pulling her body around. Fingers dug into her waist and she immediately started to squirm beneath him.

The chuckle from above made her freeze in place, her hair was moved and his breath was on her neck a moment later. "You can't be doing that on purpose." She could only whimper in response. There had been a threat in his words from before, and even if she didn't know what the threat was she wasn't willing to find out. "Why did you stop?" Hermione closed her eyes as if that would help to keep her from hearing his voice. "Come on, do it again."

She pressed her forehead onto the couch cushion wishing he would stop already. If he was going to do it she would rather he just do it, instead of what he was doing now. Not even inside her and she already felt tears running down her face. She knew what he was getting at and the slow way he went about it just made her want to scream.

"No?" There was a sigh against her throat and she shivered. "Am I going to have to ask nicely? Or-" she let out a yelp when there was a sudden sting on her cheek and she quivered. "Almost, but not quite. Should I try again?" she bit down on her lip, to stop herself from shaking her head. From giving him the satisfaction of a response.

It was silent for awhile but as he said nothing she just cried harder, even more when her body shook with the sobs. "Hermione," she pressed her face into the damp cushion, trying to escape. If she could burrow her way to China she would. "squirm for me." Reluctantly she wriggled for a few seconds, hoping that would be enough for him. That she could lock herself in her room and dive under the bed soon. "Did I tell you to stop?"

Her body jerked when his hand fell on her arse again. Head raising slightly, fingers curling on the ripped fabric to keep herself from sliding too far forward with the hit, lips parting for the whine held in her throat to slip through.

She stilled a moment later. That continuous stroke of his thumb on her waist had stopped even though it had been consistent since his hand had grabbed her there. "Well, that's interesting." Her cheeks burned and Hermione pressed her face into the cushion, opening her mouth to clamp on the threads. As if the bad taste would somehow overcome her embarrassment.

Had he never heard of other ways besides slapping to make the effect he had wanted? Due to his surprise he hadn't caught on the first time his hand had struck her. Just thinking about it made the tips of her ears go red and she tried to bury her head further in the couch with no success.

"Hermione-"

"Don't." she had raised her head quickly upon hearing him speak. "Not a word, _please_."

His grip tightened on her waist and she lowered her head once again, closing her eyes and hoping this would be over quickly and that she wouldn't have to look him in the eyes for the rest of her life. Mostly she just wanted to murder the person of the Ministry who wrote down that married couples from the ritual needed to do this once a week.

She almost had the whole scene drawn perfectly in her mind as he pounded into her until she felt his fingers in her hair, twisting around the strands. A loud cry left her when his hand jerked her head up from the couch, pain lancing through her scalp. It shattered the scene in her mind, bringing her back to the present.

Aware of him behind her, hips thrusting forward to meet hers. Of the awkward angle her back now made as he kept a tight grip on her hair. Even more so of what he was implying by doing such a thing.

She closed her eyes, the tears running quickly down her cheeks but she wasn't able to escape from it this time.

His breath was soon on her neck, tongue moving across the skin first before his mouth had latched on. He was tracing that scar again and she briefly thought of taking a knife to cut the scar off afterwards. That thought quickly left. She could barely deal with this pain, and she could still remember his teeth tearing into her throat. She may think it, but she would never go through with it.

Sobs ripped their way up her throat, not stopping even when he withdrew from her, his hand finally letting go of her hair. She didn't make any move to catch herself when she fell forward fresh tears still running down her cheeks.

"Get up."

When she made no move to get up she felt his fingers in her hair again, pulling up quickly and she followed the movement with a pained cry. Her hands went up quickly this time, trying to untangle his from hers, but he just dragged her from the couch and she struggled to keep up with his quick steps as he led her down the hall.

Her fingers stopped removing strands from between his fingers when he stopped infront of the door. _That_ door. She glanced toward him but he was already opening it and she could barely keep down a scream when it was still as dark as the last time. Still unable to see anything inside. Just that terrified her, and now he was pulling her inside the room once again.

She dug her heels into the floor but was soon stumbling forward after him, hissing softly when her hair was tugged at a particular angle. "Barty-"

"Shut up." He pulled her to a halt and the only thing she could see was that a large space infront of him was darker than the rest of the room. She was almost positive it was the only thing she had seen the last time she was in here. "You wanted to know why, didn't you?" Hermione looked up at him, hands still entangled in her own hair. That's what she had been about to ask when he had interupted. If she was going to be in this room she wanted to know the reason for it. What he had planned is another, but she doubted he would just tell her that. "You're a lyin-"

"I'm not a liar!" At the expression on his face she bit her lip, slowly lowering her hands. "There were a few times, yes, but I haven't said anything dishonest for weeks. I haven't." she glanced to the thing shrouded in dark ahead of her, wanting to avoid it at all costs. If it was anything like what happened here the other time she wanted to get out if she could. "I-"

"You are a manipulative bitch." she stared at him, unhinged by his words, "You really think I'm stupid, don't you?"

"No." she murmured, wanting to back away from his glare but unable.

"'No.' You should have said that as your answer. No creature, human, half-human, or otherwise trusts what it fears, even a little bit." she blinked as a foul taste filled her mouth. The boggart. He had heard about it, he must have. "Figured that out, did you now?" His face was suddenly right infront of hers and she jerked back, hissing at the burn it created in her scalp. "Maybe you'll keep that in mind for the next few hours." Hours? The thought was snapped from her mind when her head was yanked back. "Also," a finger traced up her throat and she trembled. "don't think for a second that you can twist my words and use what I say against me. I won't fall for that again."

His finger stopped at her lips and she flinched, understanding flickering through her eyes. "I didn't-"

"Liar." Metal creaked behind her and she became aware that his hand had left her hair. A hand pressed her backward and she tripped back over a metal ridge.

"No!" she yelped a second later both from the cold that seeped into her, and the splash sounding from the water she had fallen into. "Please!" Hermione threw herself at the metal door that was closing infront of her. "Barty! I-" It clanged shut and she slumped against the door, not paying the least bit of attention to the slosh of water around her.

She raised her hand slowly to touch at her lips before glancing down to the water she couldn't see. Her hand fell a second later to slip in the dark and she pressed her forehead to the metal.

Hours, that's what he had said. Though he was gone... did he plan to just leave her in here? Must be.

She closed her eyes to hold back any more tears and turned so her back was pressed to the metal.

If not for this law she wouldn't have had to come back here. She wouldn't have been here at all. She wouldn't be in a situation like this, having managed to hurt Barty after all the times he hurt her. Though, hers hadn't been intentional.

She gritted her teeth to hold back any whimpers or sobs, whichever were trying to leave her first. Hermione wished she could say something to somebody, even if she never would. She had run a million scenarios in her head since her marriage and they all ended with her friends, members of the Order trapped in Azkaban or being chased down by not only the Death Eaters but the Ministry as well. It would always make it easier for the Wizarding World to fall and she couldn't allow that.

Even if she had been given a choice of Azkaban or the marriage rather than being... completely forced into it she would have chosen this just as Barty said she would. She couldn't just sit trapped somewhere and watch the world fall around her. Though she was trapped now.

_Just for a few hours._

She reminded herself. Still, unable to do anything. Other than get half-blood families killed. Maybe it would have been better if she was in Azkaban so she couldn't damage the Order like that, like all the other ways she had, would in the future. If the law made it so she couldn't leave this place... maybe that would have been better.

Hermione forced her mind from the fantasies, were she couldn't be used as another source of information for the Death Eaters. She squeezed her eyes shut. There was still that promise she had made, from last weekend. Her friends had told her about it, right after her depature as well. So fast. Everything kept happening too fast. If she were to keep that promise she would need to tell him.

She didn't think of herself as a liar... with a sigh she pushed the thought away. Not wanting to focus on it any longer. Any of it. Not of people who couldn't help her. Of those who wouldn't. Not the speck of hurt in Barty's eyes as he shoved her inside this prison. Especially not that.

Instead she focused and opened her eyes a moment later.

She felt... as if she were floating. Pressing a hand down she found no floor beneath her palm, just water. Now that she wasn't thinking she was ware that she wasn't sitting on a floor covered in water. She was simply floating. How was that possible?

Her heart had started to pound frantically, somehow thinking she had sunk beneath the water even though she was breathing just fine. Could even feel the water stopped just a few inches above her waist. Her hand lowered, still searching for a floor and finding none. She whimpered and withdrew her hand wrapping her arms around herself and pressing further against the closed door. The only thing she was sure was solid in here. Something that didn't make her feel lightheaded the more she thought of that endless water beneath her. Unsure if there was something beneath it. If something was in here with her.

Why else would Barty stick her in here if there wasn't something inside to bring her pain?

The sloshing of the water did nothing to ease her thoughts, if anything it just made her more paranoid. Twisting her legs closer to her body the sound was only enhanced as she tried to get in a more defensive position. Her hands raised to clasp over he ears and she closed her eyes. Even so it was still dark, she could still hear it, just more distantly.

She opened her eyes slowly, even with the knowledge that it would be just as dark if not darker if she kept them closed. Instead, there was something forming at the corner of her vision, something white, and with a strained cry she turned her head and curled her body against the door.

"Barty!" Her hand hit the metal and it rang softly underneath her palm. "Let me out!" When she glanced over her shoulder she didn't see anything for a second, then there was red blooming across her vision and she turned quickly and closed her eyes, yelling louder, hoping silently that he heard her cries to open the door.

Her throat was starting to feel raw when the metal shifted and she pressed forward to make it open faster. Working her arm through the opening first and shoving at the door with her other hand, stumbling over the raised metal to the stone floor when it had opened enough for her to slip through.

She could hear the door close behind her and glanced up to see Barty was walking towards the hall. "Wait." Hermione went on even though he hadn't stopped. "They," she took a moment to catch a breath after all her screaming from before, "Harry and the others," his footsteps finally stopped and she hurried on, "They said the box was from an ancient civilization, that it held something, a weapon maybe. That to open it you need to, 'say a phrase through magic'. Most of the time it's only one, in rare cases it needs more phrases, or more than one witch or wizard for it to open. That if a magic spell cast on it is far off from the correct phrase it will unleash that energy back on the caster."

She had only paused to get another breath when he said, "Go to your room." and moved into the hall.

Hermione whimpered softly, pressing her forehead to the stone.


	17. Chapter 17

Eventually Hermione made her way to her room, once she found it in herself to get up off the stone she had ran there to fall on the bed and curl quickly beneath the covers. She had stayed there the rest of the day, more or less hiding until she remembered the bag she had brought from Gryffindor.

She got up from the bed, tiptoeing to the door and pressed her ear against it. It was silent on the other side as far as she could tell. Still, she stayed there for a few good long minutes before reaching down to wrap her hand around the knob, pushing the door open slowly before stepping over the threshold. She glanced down the hall to where it turned before looking towards the living room. There was no scratching of a quill or anything else as far as she could tell. There was her bag though, in the same place it had landed when Barty had ripped it from her grasp.

Taking in a breath to gather what courage she had left she walked from the hall, eyes darting around when she entered the living room. She sighed in relief when she didn'tsee Barty anywhere and moved quickly to the discarded bag, picking it up to hug to her still naked chest.

Even after she had calmed down in her room and looked around she hadn't been able to find her robes anywhere. With a glance at the bench under the window she walked over. It might be in there, though she didn't know why he would send it there. Unless he had initially had other plans when she came here. She leaned over, reaching out to retract her fingers a moment before touching the lock that looked like a Raven's eye. When she did it seemed to follow the movement. The thing was creepy, and when she raised a finger the air around it seemed to crackle. With a sigh she backed off, not wanting to risk whatever curse it might throw at her if she tried to open it.

Hermione turned around, wrapping her arm more securely over the bag, keeping it close as she walked over to the kitchen. After searching through the cabinets to find them empty she turned to the fridge and picked off some grapes from the bottom shelf, stuffing them in her mouth then closed the electronic machine that whirled softly, the only noise in the room besides the padding of her feet walking across the tile floor. She managed to find a clean goblet and stuck it in her bag along with the clothes before moving back to the hallway.

She stopped short when she saw him leaning against the corner of the wall, eyes on her. Hermione bit at her lip to stop herself from asking how long he had been standing there for, or what he wanted. She couldn't imagine either question getting her anywhere with him, if he even bothered to answer. Instead she glanced at the ground, to avoid looking at him.

Why couldn't he ever just stay in his room? She had been quiet in the hope that he wouldn't hear her. So she didn't have to see him after everything that had happened. If he was going to be here anyway though... she might as well try to explain now when she hadn't been given a chance before.

"Barty," she tore her gaze from the ground to look at him, forcing her throat to move, her vocal cords to work. "I-"

"If you're going to start with that 'I'm sorry' and 'please' crap again then go in your room to do it." The way his hand moved then was obviously a sign for her to leave, an invitation for her to go and crawl under the covers once more.

It was tempting. Especially when he was glaring at her like that again. When he knew something about her no one else did. The only thing she was grateful for right then was that he hadn't said a thing about it. Clearing her throat she tried again, "Just let me explain-"

He pushed from the wall then. "I don't want to hear it. Keep whatever it is to yourself." I can't, she wanted to scream. Why did he keep interrupting her? How was she suppose to tell him when he wouldn't let her get the words out? _How_ was she suppose to get the words out?

With him already starting down the hall she scowled. "If you don't want to hear it then why are you out here and not in your own room?" Hermione snapped, taking a step forward.

Barty had stopped, glancing at her from over his shoulder, eyes still cold but a flicker of amusement was held there. "It's my house, I can go wherever I want."

" _Our_ house." she corrected before she could stop herself. He turned to face her and she clutched at her bag as if that would help her continue, "You, I-we're married. It's not just yours." she took a breath, trying to sort her thoughts out. This wasn't what she had wanted to speak about, to tell him. That was fact, something the both of them already knew, even if it seemed occasionally that it was forgotten.

A fact was what she needed. She had already heard his opinions on her the other day, suffered through it even. He's the one that kept calling her dishonest. She would give him the truth then.

"Whether you think I was lying-" seeing him about to speak she raised her voice, narrowing her eyes at him, "-or not. Whatever your opinion of me, I kept my promise. Even if I did lie before I'll promise you right now that it won't happen again. Not a single word, syllable, vowel, whatever. I'm not going to lie to you." she bit her lip before rushing forward, knowing he would definitely try to interupt what she was about to say, discredit it. "And I didn't lie before. I have no idea if I _should_ even trust you or not. That's the truth, so don't go calling me a liar."

The corner of his lip was curled by the end of it. "Why do you have to promise it? You should be able to just do it."

Hermione mentally kicked the temptation to back away from the low tone of his voice. "You have no right to say that!" she was shouting before she could stop herself, body visibly shaking as anger crashed over her in waves. "I kept my promise to you before! I haven't lied to you since that day! Don't you go asking me 'why' or tell me that I should be able to, 'just do it.' You're the one that doesn't trust me! I've kept the promise before, so the least you could do is believe that I don't break my promises and take my word for it! I won't have you calling me a lair again! I-" she struggled for a breath, "I won't have you using me again! I refuse to be raped because of a law! I don't want your filthy hands on me ever again!" her shoulders were raised now as she took deep breaths, wondering what was going to happen to her now that she blew up at him like that. She certainly wouldn't write torture off the list, or-

"Fine."

For a moment she stood still, the sounds of her heavy breathing stopping momentarily. He couldn't possibly have just... had he? Or was it her mind playing tricks on her? Fine... fine was just as good as a yes here. There was a laugh bubbling up in her chest and she raised her hand to press a pair of fingers to her lips and stop the sound from leaking out. If all she needed to do to make it stop was this she would have done it sooner. Something so simple as letting it out, and it had worked. A small relieved laugh escaped her then and she quickly covered it by clearing her throat, "Good. I'm glad we're on the same page."

When he didn't say anything her gaze flickered to find his, to see he had turned his head, looking back down the hall instead of at her. She wasn't sure if that itself was a good or bad sign but right now she was feeling slightly optimistic at the very least. "And," she started slowly as she remembered what he had said days ago, "I would appreciate it if you didn't talk to me like you did last Sunday," she hesitated for a second. Hermione could have sworn she had seen him flinch at those words. "or even how-I don't want a repeat of what happened. Okay?" she waited, biting at her lip until he got the message that it wasn't rhetorical and gave a small nod. "Not that I have any way to tell but, if you could not think about using the imperius curse on me-"

She cut herself off with a short shriek before a hand was clamped over her mouth, her bag had fallen from her arms to the ground when Barty moved quickly towards her, and she was now staring at him with wide eyes. His own were narrowed as he glared down at her, " _I am not my father,_ " the words came out in a low hiss that made her want to scream all over again.

"I-I didn't say-" she tried to get the words out quickly even with his hand obscuring the path.

"Then _don't_ speak. I don't plan to use that spell on you, and I won't. If anyone ever does that to _you_ , you better pray that they go straight to hell before I find them." his hand lowered from her mouth then, "Do me a favor and never bring this up again, or anything remotely related to my father." She watched as he turned and walked down the hall to disappear around the corner in a matter of seconds.

After a few more seconds had passed she let out the breath she had been holding and slowly lowered herself to the ground, arm reaching out and fingers fumbling along the floor until finding the strap of her bag and curling around it. With that retrieved she stood back up to walk the few steps forward to her own room.

When the door was closed firmly behind her she walked across the room to put the bag down on the bed before getting on it herself. She stared at the gray and red fabric for awhile, his words still whirling around in her head. How had his father suddenly gotten into the conversation? She wasn't sure how that had happened, or the fact that he had brazenly said that he would not only kill but torture anyone that used the curse on her. In a way she was relieved. If he was threatening to do that then he couldn't possibly be thinking of doing it to her. There was also the fact that his eyes had darkened the same way as last Sunday. For a moment she had thought a repeat of those events was about to happen, before he let her go that is.

Something about that... the imperius curse seemed to piss him off. If he didn't get so worked up when it was just mentioned she wanted to ask him about it, but as things were she wasn't sure that was a good idea. She needed to find someone to ask, so she could understand him, even if it was by just a smidge. It would be easier for her to avoid making him angry then.

Hermione couldn't think up a single person that would have the answers, that she could ask without raising suspicions. Pushing the thoughts to the back of her mind she pulled the zipper to the bag down to start taking out the items. Besides the goblet she had stuck in there that was now resting on the nightstand it was all clothes. Not a lot, but enough for these weekends. Mostly it just consisted of pajamas, knickers, a bra or two, and some muggle clothes. She doubted she would ever go anywhere where she would need the latter one. That Barty would even let her out of the house, much less to a city outing. She could hope that she would be able to do the former at some point though. See if it was true, that they really were out in the middle of nowhere.

Once she had the articles of clothing packed away in the dresser she turned her attention to the goblet. She reached out a hand slowly to hover over the lip of the glass, taking in a breath and focusing she murmured, "Aguamenti."

_Drip._

She leaned over to the glass, leaning back with a frown. Only one drop. How the bloody hell did Barty do a million and one spells without his wand? Closing her eyes she concentrated again, letting the magic flow through her, to be what channeled the energy instead of her wand. " _Aguamenti_."

She jolted slightly when a more continuous flow came about and looked back over the lip to see it had filled by a tenth. Better than nothing she supposed. Hermione drank the contents before setting the glass back down and kept practicing the spell until it worked seamlessly.

When she fell back on the bed her eyes closed almost instantly, exhausted from practicing wandless magic for most of the day.

A knock at the door made her eyes open and she waited for another to come. When it wasn't followed by another knock she turned on her side and glanced at the nightstand before looking to the vanity mirror.

In the reflection she could see her school robes were sitting on the dresser and she got up quickly, moving into the bathroom for a quick shower before putting them on. With that done she picked up her empty bag and went into the living room. When she approached the window bench the lock was gone and she retrieved her wand, glancing around once but Barty was nowhere in sight.

Hermione stepped into the floo, walking into the Gryffindor commons a moment later. She was smiling when she past over the entrance. As she had slept she had started to think everything before had been a dream. This morning though had been uneventful, and she preferred it that way. So far he hadn't done anything to her that she told to stop doing, besides when he had covered her mouth that is. But she could forget that if he kept this up.

"Have a good weekend?" Ginny's voice cut through her thoughts and she couldn't resist the urge to grin.

"Yes. A very good weekend." Hermione said as she slipped into a seat at the Gryffindor table, slightly surprised at how fast she had come to be in the Great Hall. She hadn't really been paying attention to her surroundings while coming down here. It was a wonder she hadn't run into a wall.

Ginny's eyebrow rose. "Really? Please tell."

"Please don't," Ron said a moment later and both her and Ginny glanced to her brother, sitting in his usual seat across the table. "What? I don't want to hear about Blaise. I hear enough in the halls as it is. What is it with you girls and talking about boys and how you get 'butterflies in your stomach' sounds bloody uncomfortable."

Ginny rolled her eyes with a laugh, "It's not meant to be taken literally Ron. It's a metaphor."

"It's a bloody stupid metaphor then. Why do girls feel the need to speak in metaphors? Harry?"

There was silence for a moment as Harry swallowed down a slice of orange. "What makes you think I have the answer?"

"Well with the way Romilda Vane keeps staring at you anyone would think you know something about girls." Ron said, starting to sound exasperated.

"I know more things about dragons than girls."

Ginny evidently had enough of this topic as she leaned over to Hermione, now ignoring her brother and Harry. "Fine, fine. Hermione, tell me when these two goons aren't around."

"I am not a goon!"

"Yes you are." Ginny waved her fork at her brother as she talked and Hermione just laughed before focusing on her own breakfast, letting their banter fade to the back of her mind.

A familiar hoot sprang to the front and she glanced up from her plate. A letter had just landed between it and the fruit bowl. Reaching out she grabbed it, only needing to glance over the Ministry seal before she opened it quickly. The bloody thing had finally arrived.

_Dear Hermione Jean Granger,_

_I am sorry for the delay in getting back to you. As you probably already know the Ministry has been hectic since the law was put into motion. Though in this case I think it has worked to your advantage._

_The Ministry has been going over a few ways to calm the public down concerning your fiance's history. Nothing is solid yet but it's likely to be held in a public place. When they come up with a plan you'll be the first to know._

_This isn't concerning what you wanted me to look into but if you could come down to my office we can speak about it more there. I have a spot open on Wednesday if you don't mind missing your last class for that day._

_Sincerely, Supervisor Cuthota of the Department of Marriages, Births, and Deaths_


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter, pretty older chapters due to llamas69 helping with cleanup. Enjoy!

Her gaze flickered up to the clock. Just one more minute. One more minute than maybe she might actually be able to do something about this law. Or at the very least get a few ideas. Hopefully.

The bell from the tower rang, signaling the top of the hour. The end of class. The end of school for her, today anyways. Hermione started to cram her school supplies in her bag, for once not caring where things went.

"It's _oom_ not _ohm_. I was saying 'oh' not the spell. Is it just me or is McGonagall in a bad mood today?" She could hear Ron speaking with Harry at the end of the table.

"Just a bit grumpy. A seventh year said that Malfoy and company got out of detention for that bogart earlier than planned, so that might be it."

" _Oh_." Ron put special emphasis on the sound, "That makes sense then."

Harry's laughter filled her ears as she put the stopper in the ink well, managing to remember to do so just before throwing it into the bag. Would have caused a mess if she hadn't. "Yeah... what's the rush Hermione?"

"I have an appointment with my Supervisor at the Ministy," she said quickly searching around for her quill on the desk before leaning down to search the ground for the writing utensil. If she had lost another quill - in other words it was stolen - she was going to have to start borrowing one from her friends. Which would be fine, if Ron didn't chew on the end of his, and Harry managed to give one to her in Potions before Professor Snape found another reason to chew him out. "Blast it," she moved to get up, her head hitting the underside of the desk a second later, "Bloody hell."

"Who is your Supervisor? Did you get to pick from a list or does the Ministry assign one to you?" Ron asked.

She supposed she should have expected that sooner rather than later. He would be getting his letter next out of the three of them. With another mutter she ducked down after spotting the edge of a feather, letting out a sigh when it was her quill. Hermione was careful when she stood up this time, avoiding the edge of the desk to stand up and stick it in her bag. "You're given an option from three Supervisors. The Ministry chooses your nurse, doctor, whatever." she fired off an answer as she zipped her bag up.

"Wait." Hermione paused after slinging the bag over her shoulder. She still needed to drop it off at the dorm or at least the commons. "You're skipping class then? Again?"

She sighed, she didn't have time for this. "I'm not 'skipping class' again, Ronald. I have an _important_ appointment to go to. So, _I_ will see you _later_." Without another glance at the two of her friends she walked towards the door, having already informed the Professor of her next class earlier in the week that she wouldn't be able to make it.

"Is this just an hour or so appointment or should we not expect to see you until Monday?" Ron's voice carried out of the room and she scowled before walking quickly down the hall, ignoring the jab.

She only picked up her pace when she hit the staircases, thankful no more questions had been asked. Specifically about her Supervisor, which had the potential to lead to Blaise even though he wasn't her husband.

Fiance.

That's what Cuthota called Barty in his letter. She smiled as she ran up the stairs. It was good thinking on his part. She could just imagine what would happen if someone had been reading the letter over her shoulder and seen the word husband there instead. That would have caused all sorts of problems. Besides the gossipers thinking that the rumor that her and Blaise being married already was true. If that was true her friends would know about it, and they didn't. Whoever came up with these tall tales wasn't being very orginal.

Her own friends would be pestering her if they had looked over and seen that word. A mess. That's what it would have caused. Being unable to hide the fact that Blaise was just a cover, though it still wouldn't make her tell them the truth.

That was one thing she couldn't do. All she could do was pretend nothing happened to her on the weekends. Something she hoped she wouldn't have to fake after her conversation with Barty. He had said he wouldn't touch her, she could only hope he would keep to his word. That Cuthota might know something to evade that part of the law. She hadn't had a check up at the hospital yet, maybe she should go in and check. Once she was pregnant he wouldn't have a single excuse to touch her.

She smiled at that thought, comforted for a moment. "Glassel." she told the Fat Lady, the portraint swinging open so Hermione could step into the commons. She sprinted up the stairs to the girls' dorms, throwing open the door and launching her bag across the room to land on her bed. Turning on her heel she run back down the stairs and into McGongall's room. "Ministry of Magic!"

After the blur of green Hermione stepped from the overgrown fireplace into a crowd of people walking back and forth. A frustrated sigh slipped from her as she started to elbow her way to the front of the Ministry, walking straight to the hall Lucius had taken her down last time she was here. She still remembered the way, which was good considering the long line at the reception area. If she had had to stand there and wait for directions to Cuthota's office she might as well have been driven up a wall.

She was pushing the door open soon enough, closing it once she was inside. "Mr. Cuthota?"

He stepped around from a file cabinet, shuffling through papers as he walked over. "Hello Hermione, please have a seat." She sat down just before he was in his own chair, setting the papers aside at the edge of the desk. "Files for other appointments," he explained, to which she only nodded in acknowledgement. Cuthota leaned forward in his chair, clasping his hands ontop of the desk, "You may not be here for marriage counsel, but I would like to remind you that it is my main purpose here as your Supervisor. So-"

"Wait a moment," Hermione tried to wrap her head around what he had just said, "When I was here last you said my counselor hadn't been decided yet."

"I volunteered."

She blinked before nodding, "Of course you did." How else would the Death Eaters make it even harder for her to get word out that her husband was torturing her to someone that could actually help her? Why was she even here? "You mentioned that this appointment wasn't exactly about what the Ministry is planning."

"It's not. Not completely anyway." Cuthota reached over and pulled open a drawer to pull out a roll of parchment and set it on the desk infront of her. "That's for you."

Hermione glanced down at it then back up at him. "What is it?"

"Open it."

"But why are you giving it to me?" she didn't get it. He had her come down here for a scrap of paper? An old one at that, she could tell from the material, so it couldn't be her marriage certificate, which the Ministry kept anyway.

"Because I was told to."

"By Barty?" she asked. Who else would make a request concerning her to Cuthota? She could feel the blood slowly starting to drain from her face. What if Barty had said something to him about their conversation? That she wasn't going to cooperate with the law? No, no, Hermione. _You_ can't go to Azkaban, remember?

"Althea."

"Huh?" the blood was returning to her face now. Hermione had never heard that name before. Why would someone she never knew send her something through Cuthota?

"His mother," she was still confused, and her face must have shown it as Cuthota elaborated further, "Barty's mother."

Hermione blinked, "But she's-"

"Dead, has been for years." Cuthota looked back down to the paper and she followed his gaze, "She left me a request before that happened, so this is yours."

She reached out, unrolling the parchment to glance at the contents which consisted of a bunch of words in latin and a single illustration. It looked like a circle, a glimmering circle. A spell? Why would Barty's mother leave her a spell? "Umm thanks," she glanced up to Cuthota after rolling it back up and sticking it in her pocket with an undetectable extension charm. "Why me?"

"You married Barty didn't you?" she just nodded. "Her request was to give it to his wife once he was married."

Sounded more like an 'if' situatuion to her. "How is that possible?"

Cuthota took a moment to clear his throat, "Sirius Black wasn't the first prisoner to escape Azkaban, it was Barty. Althea took polyjuice potion to pretend to be her son in the prison until she died to get him out. His father helped."

Her mind immediately latched onto the last thing he had said. "What do you know about Barty's father?"

"Besides sending his own son to Azkaban to break him out barely a year later? Next to nothing," there was a pause, "Why do you want to know?'

"I-" Hermione stopped for a moment, glancing back to the table. He was her marriage counselor, and this was what they were for, right? At least in part. It was a problem that caused issues with their marriage. Though everything caused issues in their marriage, the major one being that she hadn't chosen him. Those damn Death Eaters did. "He... gets violent when his father is remotely mentioned in some way," that was putting it lightly.

She glanced back up to Cuthota, who... looked as if he was frowning, barely. A barely there frown. From a person that always seemed to wear a poker face, that didn't bode well. "I'll put it this way: Bartemius Senior should have been thrown in Azkaban after breaking his son out, and he would have been. If house elves could be used as witnesses in the Ministry courts, seeing as they can't, my hands were tied."

She blinked. "What do you mean, your hands were tied?"

"Without evidence there's no way to prove when one breaks the law. Putting the victim in the courts wasn't an option, so evidence would be the next. That and no one cares about prisoners that were supposedly in Azkaban."

Victim? Breaking the law? Hermione's gaze lowered back to the desk. The imperius curse. Well, that explained a lot. "You said you knew next to nothing." She glanced back up, frowning at Cuthota. How he could say that and then give inside information was beyond her.

"Althea requested that I keep an eye on her son before going into Azkaban."

"Why? He was a convicted Death Eater, he's still a Death Eater."

The former trace of emotion vanished from his face. "For a muggleborn you now hold a large amount of influence in the Ministry, if you care to use it." she blinked, unsure of what he was saying. If she was hearing him correctly.

"But... you're a Death Eater."

His brow raised ever so slightly and then the sleeves of his robes were rolled up. Cuthota turned his arms but no matter the angle Hermione couldn't see a single mark on the skin. "As I was saying," he rolled the sleeves back down, "I work for the Crouch family. As in you and Barty, not the Death Eaters or a self-proclaimed Dark Lord."

"The Malfoys-"

"Wish to seek favor with their Lord, and yes, the Dark Lord is aware of your marriage to Barty. It's still true that you won't go to Azkaban if you try and break the law."

Hermione bit her lip, "What happens if I don't fufill the requirements of the law? If... I don't... do the weekly."

Cuthota leaned back in his chair. "The Ministry would know about it the second after the designated time is passed. You can't break the law or get around it. No one can. When I say influence I mean political, not concerning already passed laws." He glanced over his shoulder then, with a flick of his wand one of the file cabinets opened and a box floated out to land on the table. "That contains all current going ons in the courts of the Ministry."

"Does that include their plot to use me?" Hermione asked, gazing at the sealed box. It had landed with a heavy thud, she could only imagine how many rolls of parchment were contained in there. Especially since it sounded as if there was an extension charm on it. Which meant it held a lot more then what the box looked like it could contain.

"No, that's off the books." his wand flicked again and the box was raised up to land back where it had been a second ago. "If you ever want anything from that box though just contact me and you'll get copies." With his hands settled on the desk again he continued to answer her question, the main thing she came here for, "The Ministry hasn't decided exactly what to do yet, but they are getting some ideas."

"You mentioned a public place would be used."

"Yes, to help send the message that he isn't a Death Eater. With it being public there would be a lot of witches and wizards around, just the sort of place a Death Eater attack is likely to happen. The Ministry wants to let the public know that they're safe and there's no reason to be afraid. Also so they stop sending letters about the decision to set him free."

"How did Barty get out of Azkaban?" It was a question she had been asking herself since she saw the news in the Daily Prophet. Before this mess with the marriage law came into play.

Cuthota's fingers drummed on the desk, "That's something you should ask him yourself."

Hermione had the urge to tear out her own hair once again, even after knowing that just pulling on the strands hurt like hell thanks to Barty. "Whenever I ask him something he either avoids the question completely or deflects it with another question. Why can't you just tell me?"

He stopped tapping at the wood, "It's not my place," glancing at a clock to his side he said, "That's all the time I have for today. I have another appointment in a minute that I need to get ready for," he turned back to her, "If you want to come in again send a letter beforehand and I'll squeeze you in to my schedule."

"Has Barty been here before?"

Cuthota twined his fingers together ontop of the desk, "Regularly. I'm busy with his own requests regarding the Ministry," there was a knock at the door that cut through his words for a moment, "Please leave, _Mrs. Crouch_."

Hermione drew back from the desk as if stung. She stood up quickly and practically ran from the room, heading back to the reception area which would lead her back to the floo powder network.

She couldn't believe he had just done that. Calling her by her marriage name when someone else was right outside the door. If they had heard... if they had seen her face, even though she kept her head down when she exited the room. There was too many 'what ifs' swimming around in her head right then.

It took her a few minutes until she was standing in a line to use the floo network to calm herself down. Cuthota wouldn't have said that if there was a chance anyone else would hear. There was probably a muffling charm on the door to his office. He was the one that extended the option of having the change in her name remain hidden, there was no reason he would do that.

As she stepped forward in the line, listening to another person disappear in the green flames she frowned. The Ministry would know if her and Barty didn't do the weekly as she had put it. So there really was no way around that part of the law. How was that suppose to get fulfilled after what she had said to Barty though? She bit at her lip, taking another step forward. That might end up being a problem.

With one more step forward and a mutter of her destination green flames sprang up around her. She would go straight to the library, maybe she could find something to help her in there. Even if it hadn't done much for her the last time.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This should serve to be a very interesting chapter, not very enlightening, more so producing questions, but still interesting. I hope you guys enjoy, and that the beginning doesn't scare you off.

Hermione sucked in a breath, it left her throat raw, the hot air killing any moisture, the bits of ash that seemed to continuously fall from the sky invaded her mouth and she quickly closed it. Leaning forward she coughed, urging it out of her system as she stared at the ground where small rivers of blood rolled along the surface.

With most of the ash out of her mouth now she raised her head again, trying to ignore the crackle of flames all around her. Smoke filled the air in tall pillars, obscuring the sky. The fire around her continued to burn and yet, she hadn't seen a single piece of wood fall, it just kept burning and the heat never lost a flame.

She turned slowly until she didn't see anymore burning buildings, instead it was a wall of smoke. Hermione coughed again, before stepping forward, wanting to get out of this place.

The smoke swirled as she got closer, starting to part so could see a glimpse of metal burning hot. She took a step back, still remembering the feel of hot metal on her own skin, it parted then. The smoke curled away so all she could see was metal coming up from the ground, glowing red from the heat, arching high up into the air and back into the pillars of smoke.

She was unable to hold back the whimper in her throat at seeing the fence, forcing in a breath of air to cough once again she turned, looking back at the buildings for another way out.

Most looked like husks, the roofs gone, though she could see one with a roof in the distance, and less smoke coming from there. Hermione covered her mouth with her hand as she walked forward, flinching whenever her bare feet stepped into the blood covering the ground, sending it splashing up to gather on her ankles. She tried to ignore the flecks that hit her knees, if there was a way out of here it had to be there. In that house.

She curled her cloak tighter around her as she walked, leaning away from the flames that reached out like fingers towards her when she passed too close to the fire. Hermione only stopped when she got to the building that wasn't burning, standing two-stories tall with the door unhinged and lying on the steps leading inside. Wood creaked above her and she tilted her head back to see a sign hanging above.

Most of the words had blood splattered over them, the original anyway. Below them were words in another language, carved into the wood along with a symbol of a star.

_Opos kai parapano, etsi kai kato_

With a glance at the burning buildings she walked into the inn to be greated by the crackle of flames. Hermione turned quickly, letting out a sigh of relief when the only fire she could see was in the confines of a hearth. Her fingers uncurled slowly as she finally allowed herself to relax after finding herself in this hell hole. She took a step back from the fire, still wary of it. Something had poked into her back and she turned to see the wood rail of a staircase that led up.

Hermione reached out and wrapped her hand around the rail before slowly ascending the steps, glancing at the tapestry on the walls that held dark patches. The same sort of dark spots that would come from a misfired spell. A battle must have happened here, though the building seemed fine despite the marks.

She reached the landing and moved her gaze to the open doorways, pieces of wood that must have once been doors lay scattered on the floor and she stepped around them to peer into the first room.

Hermione quickly moved back and closed her eyes, trying to wipe the vivid memory of blood coating the walls and furniture, and bloody remains hanging from the chandelier, blood still dripping into the accumulating sea beneath it.

Maybe this wasn't the way out

She covered her mouth once more before walking further down the hall so she wouldn't taste death on her tongue. Hermione spared each room a glance, finding them in similar states to the first one. So she was pleasantly surprised when she found the last room was devoid of blood and the stench that came with it.

Stepping inside she moved around the room, trailing a hand over the drawers before yanking them open to find nothing again and again. From the pristine look it seemed as if no one had ever rented this room out. She continued her search, opening everything and tearing the sheets from the bed, the continued crackle of flames outside the windows urging her on. Hermione was about to leave the room after turning everything over when she noticed the drawer beneath the matress and walked back to the bed, sitting down to pull it open and found herself staring back at her own reflection.

A mirror filled the bottom of the drawer and she frowned. That was hardly a way out. She started to turn away, only stopping when the reflection didn't do the same. Hermione turned back, still frowning but the reflection remained where it was, expression neutral. She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment just to think. When she opened them again Hermione recoiled from the arms reaching out of the mirror, turning skeletal when they slipped the glass, if it was glass.

Her hand fell from her mouth and she gasped in a breath to cough and try to get the rancid air from her throat. Skeleton hands pressed at the edge of the drawer, the top of a skull starting to appear as whatever it was pushed itself from the mirror. Without a single thought Hermione pushed herself up from the ground and ran back down the hall and down the stairs, ignoring the clattering of bones behind her.

She burst from the doorway, breathing hard and fast. With a quick look to the left where she had come from she turned right, running down the street her throat burning from the air. Hermione ran down the streets, flames licking at the sides of her vision, seeming to crawl along the wood, hopping from building to building, chasing her. There was a _thing_ chasing her.

Her feet slipped through a river of blood and she was partly surprised it hadn't caused her to fall sooner before she went sprawling on the ground, left foot twisting as it hit a raised surface and she hissed from the pain that shot up her leg.

Hermione turned on the ground, throwing a quick look behind her. Upon not seeing the thing anywhere in her immediate vicinity she slowly sat up, flinching from the pain in her ankle. She touched at the spot before turning to look at the slate of stone raising from the ground that had caused this mess. It barely stayed above the blood surrounding it, covered in ash and she brushed it off, brow furrowing when she saw more of the unrecognizable letters that had been present at the inn.

_Edo vrisketai i aionia kolasi._

_Eimaste ena me ti sfaira._

She was still staring at the words when a rattle of bones reached her ears. Hermione drew in a sharp breath, keeping it caught in her throat as her heart hammered away in her chest. The blood lapped at her elbow and with a glance down she slid back to the ground slowly, staring in the opposite area that she heard the sound. She held her breath when it got closer, forcing her body to remain as still as one of the corpses she found in the inn room.

The sound from the thing stopped though and instead she heard the splash of blood, feet walking through the streams. It didn't take long for her to see bare feet covered in blood come into her vision. She kept her gaze fixed on them, not looking up as they drew closer to stop just a yard away.

" _Paidi?_ "

She kept her lips shut, not wanting to give away that she wasn't dead, not caring to answer a question she didn't even understand. Mostly she didn't want any of the blood slipping into her own mouth.

Stark white filled her vision in the next moment, bone glistening in the light of the flames and she screamed as she started to scramble away, hands pushing at the ground...

Her hands pushed at the wood beneath her and Hermione gasped, breathing quickly, eyes flying open to see familiar book shelves soaring high above her. The library. She was in the library. Her breathing slowed as she forced herself to relax. It had just been a dream. A vivid dream, but a dream none the less.

Talons hit the wood of the desk and her head shot to the side to see her owl sitting there, a letter tied to it's left leg. "Shit," Hermione drew in a breath to still her nerves before reaching out and taking the letter, "Go back to the owlery Ari," the owl flapped her wings and then took off through the window next to her.

She sighed, willing herself to push the dream from the back of her mind. Though she kept seeing blood, letters carved into wood and stone whenever she blinked. Her gaze landed on the Ministry symbol holding the letter together. She broke the seal, needing something to divert her attention from the dream, the thing, and some woman's voice speaking in a foreign language.

_Dear Hermione Jean Granger,_

_About your inquiry the other day._

_I would seriously reconsider thinking about breaking the law on your part. If you don't comply with the requirement your agreement with my department will no longer be applicable. And the Ministry would be able to leak your situation to the press._

_I hope you thought over what I said and will listen to my advice concerning your fiance._

_Sincerely, Supervisor Cuthota of the Department of Marriages, Births, and Deaths_

She bit at her lip, feeling a rush of anger run through her. It was a threat. The damned Ministry was threatening to take away her protection.

Hermione threw the letter back onto the table, glaring down at it. Weren't they already doing enough? They were working on a plan to assure the public about Barty already. That should suffice for everyone that somehow knew he was still a Death Eater or had a feeling that he was anyway. None of them actually knew or else he would have been forced into Azkaban by now.

Unless Cuthota manipulated the Ministry to keep him out that is. He did say he worked for the Crouch family. It was likely he would do it if it came to that, no matter what she said. She had only married into the family, she doubted she had as much pull on politics as Cuthota had made it sound.

"Hermione," she spun around at hearing her name, hand slamming over the letter to cover it even though there was no immediate mention of her marriage. Blaise was standing next to one of the bookshelves, "Sorry to startle you. Could we talk?"

She paused for a moment then nodded her head, "Yeah, sure," she ran a hand through her hair, hoping it didn't look too messy after her nap, "Just give me a moment." Hermione turned setting one of her texts ontop of the books she had been looking through previously, trying to find a way out of the law's requirement. She had gotten a few ideas in mind before reading that letter from Cuthota, but not it was all a mess again. Bloody Ministry.

She grabbed a book from a stack nearby, setting it ontop of her own stack so Blaise wouldn't see what she had been researching, keeping the numerous fertility books from view. Once her stack of now worthless notes were back in her bag she stuck the letter in as well before getting up from the desk and turning to face him. A thought struck her though as she took a step forward, hesitating. "Uh, I need to find one more book before we go."

"I can help you look," she considered his offer for a moment then nodded moving through the stacks to the language section, finger gliding over the spines, looking for familiar marks, a word she had seen before. She only got more frustrated as she look, issuing a sigh after a few minutes of looking. "Is something wrong?" Blaise asked from her right, just standing and watching her go over the books.

She realized she hadn't given him a single hint of what she was looking for. "I'm fine," she bit at her lip, "I just had a weird dream. Do you know what _paidi_ means?" Hermione turned back to the books, hoping the single word didn't mean something terrible, and if it did that he wouldn't know what it meant.

"Yeah," she halted in her progress, glancing back to him. "It's greek, means child."

"Greek," she repeated turning to quickly snatch an english greek translation dictionary. " _Child?_ " she muttered to herself as she slung the book into her bag. It certainly wasn't morbid like she had expected. Though she didn't know what to make of it. Why did that woman call her child? And what had that skeleton thing been?

"Most of the seventh years have been talking about having odd dreams this week." That comment made her turn back to face Blaise.

"Have you had weird dreams?"

"Just one." She bit at her lip, unsure of what else to ask. "It's spread like a wild fire all over the school. One of the Ravenclaws thinks it's a side effect of the ritual since a few six years are having them as well, those who received their letters anyway." He paused for a moment. "Is the _paidi_ thing from a dream? The name of the ritual is in greek, you know."

"It is?" she asked, slowly walking out of the library now that she had what she needed to figure out what those words meant from her own dream.

He nodded. "It's suppose to translate to the, threads of time."

"So, the dreams could be a side effect of the ritual." she said, pushing down the urge to shiver, instead she glanced to Blaise. What had his dream been about? He didn't appear freaked out about it, but she didn't want to be invasive or do anything to jeopardize their agreement.

"Or they were always a part of the ritual and the Ministry is missing the page that talks about it."

"Are any of them the same?"

"Not from what I've heard. Some are as normal as dreams get, just with a single thing out of place. Others are more weird. A Hufflepuff said something about being underwater, able to breath without a spell and that they couldn't leave the water, but it's nothing too unusual. That seventh year just mentioned they were scared of water but felt calm in the dream."

Hermione pressed her lips together. If that was the first example he thought of then she doubted anyone else was in a burning village like she had been. "Where are we going to talk?" she asked, since the students they passed in the hallway - especially the younger years - kept glancing at them and then murming to each other.

Blaise must have noticed as well as he looked over them before answering her, "Hogsmeade."

**/ / /**

He watched as the door to the Hog's Head swung shut as Hermione slipped out. Well, that seemed to go fine, and would keep the impression that they were actually matches for the next few weeks. Those students they had passed in the hallway were probably already spreading rumors even though they had been five inches apart and hadn't been holdings hand like some couples in Hogwarts were starting to do. He just hoped they didn't take everything out of proportion again.

Blaise sighed as he leaned back in the chair, swirling his glass of butterbeer in hand as he stared down at the light liquid and the bits of foam that still clung stubbornly to the corners of the glass.

"If you're trying to look disappointed about her having to leave it's working." He glanced up to see Draco take the seat across from him.

"I wasn't even thinking abou that," he said, downing a gulp from his drink a moment later.

"What's wrong then?" Draco took out his flask from the pocket of his robe, which Blaise suspected held firewhiskey.

"The gossipers got to Daphne the last time me and Hermione were seen together," he took another drink from his glass.

Draco grinned, taking a quick swing of whatever was in the flask before setting it down on the table, "Well since you weren't at Hogwarts this time and instead at Hogsmeade they'll be nicer. Say things like, 'I saw the two of them enter a room at the inn.'"

Blaise blanched, the butterbeer turning sour in his stomach. "Don't let Daphe hear you saying that. In fact, don't let anyone get that idea. That would just be going overboard in the rumor department."

"Walk the plank, matey." Draco announced, and Blaise raised an eyebrow at his friend who took another swing from his flask, nose scrunching up for a second afterwards. Yup, definitely firewhiskey. Though his friend was quite now, and even with his little mood swings fire whiskey usually got him talking.

"What about you?" Blaise asked, now looking at his empty drink, thinking about getting a refill and maybe stealing some of the alcohol from his friend.

"Hmm?"

He looked up to see Draco looking down at the table, running a finger along the surface. Depressed mood again, _perfect_. "Give me that," he reached out and quickly snatched the flask from Draco, sticking it in his pocket. Blaise just ignored the glare he recieved for doing that, "What are you so depressed about? Your letter hasn't come yet."

" _Yet_ ," Draco repeated, then sighed, signaling to a passing waiter before slumping back into the furniture. The fellow Slytherin was silent for a moment, and then, "Why are you covering for her?" Blaise stared at him, he had already gone over this with Draco a week ago, so why was he asking now? "It would be more entertaining if you didn't."

Entertaining? "What are you..." Blaise paused as the waiter set two glasses of butterbeer down, taking his empty glass back to the bar. It did give him a moment to think about what he was saying though, "Do you know who her match is?"

Draco only gave him a look before he started drinking from his own glass, frowning probably from the lack of alcohol.

**/ / /**

The green flames had dissolved around her but Hermione stayed rooted to the spot for a moment. When she didn't hear or see him she stepped from the mantle crossing the living room quickly and into the hall to get to her own room.

With the door closed behind her now, she let out a sigh of relief. Atleast he hadn't been waiting for her or lurking in the shadows. So far it seemed that he was keeping to his word...

Hermione chewed on her bottom lip as she walked across the room to set her bag down on the bed. Why did the Ministry have to go and stick their nose in her buisness? She took out some of the notes from her bag, going over them again.

Her finger trailed over the words as she sat on the edge of the bed, glaring down at the paper. This one had been the most promising, but now she couldn't use it. "Bloody Ministry," she muttered as she read over the spell that could get the same result as sex - well in her case rape. In other words he wouldn't have been able to lay a hand on her and the actual consumation as the Ministry had liked to call it wouldn't have needed to happen. It doubled as a fertility spell as well, simply upping the chances. It may have been complicated but she was sure she would have been able to figure it out if given the chance.

How did the Ministry know when or if they did it anyway? She suspected it had to do with the blood that the nurse Mrs. Vandis had taken from her when she went to Saint Mungos. It was really the only thing she could think of. That document that went in detail of the law probably told exactly what it was, but she hadn't had a chance to look at it the other weekends. When she had looked over at the coffee table and the kitchen table as well today she hadn't seen the papers anywhere. Barty must have moved them, probably to his room as she couldn't think of anywhere else he would put them.

With a mutter she fell back onto the bed, just lying there as she stared up at the ceiling. Maybe that one philosophy was right. When everything is suddenly going good, you're about to get screwed. She couldn't remember if those were even the right words or who had said it in the first place, but she still got the message from it.

She sighed, watching the candles flicker back and forth above her. Now what was she suppose to do?

Hermione turned over onto her stomach, grabbing the rest of the papers from her bag and spread them out over the matress. Maybe there was a good enough fertility potion in here that would make it so she only had to do it once more with Barty, if she could even figure out how that was going to work as well.

She spent most of the weekend holed up in her room, only going out after checking from the hallway that he wasn't in the living room.

With each spell or potion she looked over only to throw the page containing it over the side of the bed she could feel a twist in her stomach. Eventually she grabbed a few pages and tried looking for a way to combine them to get the effect she wanted. Without anyway to make sure there wasn't a bad side effect she was hesitant to try anything she had written down, even if she hadn't noticed anything that would directly conflict with one of the spells or potions.

Not having a wand or the potion supplies to do any sort of trial run made her shove all the papers that had accumulated on her bed to the floor, and she watched them flutter down before turning her gaze to the clock.

It was almost midnight now, and it was Sunday. There could only be around six to five hours left until the Ministry would deem the law broken and start whispering to the Daily Prophet. It would certainly get their desired effect quicker that way. She still couldn't let that happen.

Hermione turned onto her side, staring back at her reflection in the vanity mirror as her mind spun. Words from the various potions and spells whizzed around but she hardly focused on them, gaze set on her own eyes staring right back.

With a shaky hand she pushed her hair behind her ear then sat up slowly, not letting herself stop moving. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up walking over to open her door and step into the hallway. Without a glance left she turned right, deeper into the house. She barely managed to hold in a whimper as she passed the now closed and locked door that seemed to have a small piece of hell beyond it.

She stopped just in front of the door at the end of the hall, looking over the splintered bits and pieces, taking in small quick breaths. With her hand curled she knocked softly on the wood, waiting a few seconds. When no noise came she drew her tongue over her lips so they wouldn't be so dry when she tried to speak, "Barty?"

After a minute of silence had passed her hand went to the door knob and she pushed the door open slowly. Even as it creaked forward there was no other sound, and once again she wondered if the door was about to fall apart. Her gaze slid over the room, settling on Barty who was currently lounging on the bed. He hadn't even looked up once, his own gaze on one of the old tattered books in his hand. If she had to guess it would contain dark magic. Just thinking about that made a shiver run down her spine. Surely he already knew enough dark magic?

"Barty," she said his name again, hoping to get his attention this time as the clock ticked in the back of her mind. His finger tapped at the edge of the book as he turned a page but he didn't give any indication that he had heard her, and she knew he could hear her. "The law-"

"'I refuse to be raped because of a law.' Those are your words, aren't they?"

She held her breath for a moment, staring at him. "I... yes." Hermione blinked, trying to steady her breathing that was suddenly coming fast after his initial response to her words. "But it effects my agreement with Cuthota as well. They, the Ministry will tell the Prophet if I break the law-"

"Personally I don't care what the Daily Prophet does."

She bit at her lip, waiting a few seconds to assure herself that he wouldn't start speaking again in the middle of her own words, "Won't they put you back in Azkaban if you don't comply with the law?" she found her voice starting to shake as she spoke. The Ministry had to have said something to him about it, even if they didn't believe he was a Death Eater.

"Probably. If they could."

Those words ran through her mind for a few seconds. Of course they would try, and the Death Eaters and Cuthota would keep him out of the prison, just as she had thought they would. Her lips parted, but the words caught in her throat. She swallowed down the lump and tried again, "Barty, I-"

"'don't want your filthy hands on me ever again.' Also your words, if I'm remembering correctly. Go ahead and correct me if I'm wrong." His fingers barely moved and a page lifted to lower on the other side.

She bit at her lip, fingers twitching at her sides. He couldn't seriously be doing this. After all the other times that had been for his sick pleasure, but now he wouldn't actually conform to the law? He wasn't even worried about going to Azkaban... he didn't even care about the Prophet and what it could do to her. And why would he? It would be in favor of the Ministry and the Death Eaters. It would work in his favor.

Her fingers curled at her sides and she raised them slowly to work at the buttons of her top. The room was silent except for the flutter of turning pages as she slid her arms from the sleeves, letting the pajama shirt fall to the floor. She hooked her fingers into her pants and knickers, sliding them down her legs to gather in a pile at her ankles.

Stepping from the pile of clothes she walked forward until she could rest the palms of her hands on the edge of the bed. She could feel her body trembling and took deep breaths to steady herself before leaning forward to move up the bed. As she crawled forward she kept her hands a good few inches away from the sides of his body, wincing when her knee bumped against his leg the first time. When he didn't move she resumed moving forward, only stopping to rest on his thighs.

Her gaze flickered up to him momentarily to find he was still looking at the book, she considered tearing it from his hands for a second until her eyes drew back down past his hands to the belt along his pants. Her fingers curled into the sheets. Who the bloody hell kept their belt on when they were lying on a bed? Other than to make undressing someone harder that is.

She uncurled her fingers, reaching down to undo the buckle, grabbing onto it a moment later she pulled quickly so it slid through the loops. Hermione set the belt to the side, now pulling down the zipper without that leather strip in the way. Her fingers moved back up, pushing the button through the fabric. She stayed still for a second, biting at her lip before grabbing onto the waist band and tugging it down, lifting her own body so she could lower the article of clothing past the knees. Not bothering to go any further after all the wriggling she had done just to get it there. She slid her body up, stopping short to reach down, fingers running along the exposed skin of his thighs as she kept her gaze averted, eyes latched on a wall.

Her fingers only slowed as they moved up, stopping entirely so she had to take a breath and force them to continue. The tip of her fingers retracted the moment his skin felt warmer beneath her hand. Hermione forced air into her lungs, keeping her gaze on a charred spot on the wall as her hand moved back up to wrap around his cock.

She slid her body up his once again, raising her hips to hold herself over where her hand was placed. With her eyes still on the wall she lowered herself, her fingers moving up to make sure she was aligned before lowering onto him. A whimper caught in her throat when her hips met his, her hand having moved to grasp at the side, fingers curling into the skin.

Hermione stayed still for a minute before forcing her body to slide back up and then down again. She kept her movements slow, not wanting to experience pain like all the other times.

If she couldn't see the wall she had stuck her gaze to she would have thought she had burned a hole through it by now, with her eyes latched onto one spot. Though she could, and there was really only one way to change that. She closed her eyes.

Her breath hitched as a trickle of sweat ran down her spine. It just seemed to make her skin more warm, hot. As if she was burning, and all that heat was settling in the pit of her stomach. With a whimper she tilted her head back, lips parting to try and get the cold air into her body faster.

The feeling only increased when skin brushed down her hip causing her eyes to fly open and look down, the one place she had kept avoiding. His hand continued down even as her hips met his once again. Her stomach was tightening...

" _Stop_."

"Shh," his fingers had slid between their bodies and she gasped, eyelids fluttering against her will. "You'll like this."

Her lips parted to say it again when his fingers moved over that same spot, the word stuck in her throat for a moment as he toyed with her clit. She was too warm, her body too... A sound escape her when he put more pressure on the spot. " _No_." it was building, it was coiling up in her and she hissed again, " _No_." He couldn't be... she couldn't, " _Barty_ ," her vocals changed mid-name, body trembling as a wave passed through it. She could feel her muscles clamp around him, how she felt slick barely a second later.

Her mind was spinning, trying to process it, what he had just done. But then it was shutting down along with the rest of her body. Hermione slumped forward as her eyelids lowered, that wave still lapping at her mind, urging her to just sleep it off.

With a whimper she pushed at his chest, managing to roll off and onto the side before her vision went black.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So besides this new chapter I've also uploaded a poetry fic for this couple and a one-shot, check em out if you haven't already.

A crackle of flames filled her ears, a soft pop as a log shifted and she stirred, her cheek pressed against something cold.

Her eyes opened slowly, to see an empty floor in front of her, the wood boards looked as if they had been nibbled on. Long thin marks trailed over the floor, white against the dark wood, along with bits of red sometimes clinging to the edges of them. Blood. Dried onto the floor. Those marks... they were thin enough to have been made by nails, clawing at the ground that she now resided on.

Her breath caught in her throat when she heard a low rattle from beneath the sound coming from the fireplace. The only thing that was louder than the flames was a sudden scratching along the wood and against her better judgement Hermione glanced over to where it had come from.

The legs of the chair scraped along the floor before stopping, bloodied feet stepped from behind it and she immediately knew it was that woman from before. The same one was now sitting in the chair, crossing pale legs at the knee. " _Paidi_?" She didn't dare look up, unsure of what she would see. " _Child_?" Her eyes widened at the sudden change. This person could speak english, so why hadn't they from the get go? " _I know you're awake_ , _there's no sense hiding it_."

With a bite at her lip she raised her head just enough to see the person sitting in the chair. The specks of blood lessened the further up her gaze went, a thin dark garment covered the woman from thigh to neck. Hermione wasn't sure what to call it, but it certainly didn't look like modern clothing. Her eyes stopped when they met hers, dark, pure black.

" _See_?" The woman smiled and Hermione flinched from the sharp teeth that became visible. It looked inhuman. Her eyes widened a moment later when she could see bits of the chair from behind her. No, _through_ her. A ghost.

"Who are you?" The words came out soft after hearing a distant bone rattling somewhere within the structure. The last thing she wanted was _that_ near her again.

" _Curious, aren't you_?" A smile again, flashing teeth when the fire light flickered over her face. The tips were outlined in red. " _Sounder, because of the sounds they make, their screams_." Hermione inched back, not liking the sound of this at all, though she stopped short. Her movement had been odd, it felt as if... with a glance down she saw rope wrapped around her legs. " _It's more of a title than a name_." Her gaze flickered back up, already wanting to wake up from this nightmare. " _Not that it holds any signifigance now_."

She sucked in a breath, "Where am I?" she asked when this ghost person paused.

The way the flames suddenly seemed to move the light and shadows over her face made her wonder if she could dream the flames into launching at the woman, up until she spoke anyway, " _Kouidar, I like to call it the blood and flame bubble_."

If she was having any other dream she would wonder why her mind would come up with this. After speaking with Blaise though, and experiencing the dream before this she was convinced it wasn't from her mind. "I want to leave," she had to be able to get out of this, before things became even more strange than they already were.

The woman grinned, " _Then wake up_ ," turning her head, she looked to a corner shrouded in shadows, dark hair glowing from the flames. It looked as if there was strands of red in the light and Hermione turned away, not wanting to know what it was though she had a good enough idea. " _Episkeptis mas thelei na fygei, na tin kanei na paei_."

Even before she was done speaking Hermione had started to develop a chill that crawled over her skin. She wished that she understood greek so that she knew what this woman, Sounder, was saying.

There was a clank from the shadows, metal hissing, and when Hermione glanced over she could see sparks flying through the air, lighting up the area. She wasn't able to hold back her scream at seeing the skeleton's flickering frame created by the sparks, red hot metal spinning, and with a clink smaller bits of metal attached as it spun around on the machine. Barbs. Skeletal fingers wrapped around the end of the metal chain, dragging it over as it lumbered across the room toward her.

Her feet made scuff marks on the floor as she kicked, but the ropes were tied tight, keeping her in place as the thing stopped infront of her. It leaned down, shuffling forward, moving the chain to her legs... the room went dark.

Even with the knowledge that it had all been a dream - a terrible twisted mind fuck of a dream - she could still feel the way the bonds had kept her on the floor. It was almost as if she was still bound. Her legs didn't feel constricted anymore but there was a weight on her waist.

Her lips parted in a soundless cry and she went to move her hands, push whatever it was from her body to find her one arm was pinned beneath that same weight. She started to tremble, forcing her free hand to move towards the spot, to...

To feel warm air run along her shoulder and neck, a soft murmur following it, " _Shh_ ," hot breath on her skin, "It's okay," something soft pressed to her shoulder blade, lips. "You're fine, Hermione." Her hand was suddenly warm, fingers threading inbetween her own. His lips had moved inward, leaving a trail of warmed skin behind. "It's just a dream, calm down."

The whispers fell quiet as his kisses didn't let up, just moved to the top of her jaw before making the path back down. Her fingers curled around his, unsure if she wanted this to be one of those dreams in a dream or reality. Either way she still wasn't at that place, _Kouidar_ , and for that she was thankful. She could feel her pulse that had gotten caught in her throat slowly slip back and Hermione took a shaky breath.

With just a glance across from her she found hollow eyes looking back at her and stiffened. There was another murmur in her ear but she couldn't hear it due to the blood pounding in her head, vision swimming.

She could barely keep in her whimper, just tightened her grasp on his hand. With a single intake of breath she spun her body so she wasn't facing the dresser and the skulls that adorned it. Instead she was pressed to his chest, her arm that had previously been held down was now pinned between her own body and the bed. With that hand free though and pressed to bare skin she could feel a sort of vibration beneath the skin. She blinked, it taking a moment for her to realize it was his heart, the beat steady unlike her own.

"Hermione?" her gaze flickered up, meeting his, "What's wrong?"

That single question sent her mind spinning. What was wrong? Everything in her life was wrong. She shouldn't be having these weird dreams. If she were to have them anywhere she should have them in her dorm with her House mates. Not here, not with him. She shouldn't be _here_ , sleeping next to him, naked beneath the sheets, one hand clasped in his own, the other pressed to his bare chest. How any of that had happened itself was most of a mystery to her. She remembered falling asleep ontop of the sheets, not under them. That she had undone his pants. Her fingers hadn't touched a single button on his shirt. Mostly she remembered the dream and ducked her head down, pressing her forehead forward until that part of her was pressed to his chest as well.

Damn skeletons. Damn skulls. She didn't want to see another for as long as she lived. Though since there was atleast ten she could make out in the darkness if she were to look back over her shoulder she kept her dead down, taking in slow breaths to try and steady her heart.

It was only once she had convinced herself that the skeleton from her dream wasn't secretly inhabiting one of the skulls in this room that she drew her tongue over her lips. She had no idea if her voice was even going to come out clear but she muttered, "Barty?" against his skin.

"Yes?" A wave of relief crashed over her that he had actually heard her.

"Have you..." she took in a quick breath, "Have you had any weird dreams?" When her question was met with silence she tilted her head so she could glance up at him. "It's just, the people at school who got their letters are having weird dreams, and I..." she trailed off at just the memory of being surrounded by fire and blood.

"Do you want to tell me about it?"

She blinked. "I..." Was it just her or was his voice soft today? "Uh," her gaze slid down and away from his face. Her tongue began moving a moment later, lips parting for words to tumble from her mouth, "There was fire, blood, this... skeleton, and a woman. She called herself a Sounder, because..." she licked her lips nervously, "because of their screams." Her heart was beating loud in her ears again. "I think she tortured people, and she was in both of my dreams calling me _paidi_. Child." Lips parting she drew in a breath of air, "I'm scared."

His arm that she had failed to notice before tightened around her body and she felt herself pressed forward. Hermione made no move back to her previous position, instead biting into her lip to try and stop the familiar burn in her eyes. Her shoulders shook and soon her cheeks felt hot and wet as tears flowed down her face. Soft reassurances were being whispered into her ear again and she closed her eyes, listening but not quite hearing.

When her eyes were dry and she was able to hold in her sobs she murmured softly once again, "Did you have them?" She wasn't sure if he would answer her or not but she hoped he would instead of dodging the topic like so many others.

His breath was loud in her ears and she opened her eyes to peek at him through her lashes. "One," her fingers curled against his chest, silently urging him to go on. She couldn't be the only person with dreams even she considered weird in a completely over the top way compared to the only other one she had heard of. She couldn't be the only one wondering what the dreams meant. "There wasn't any blood or fire, there wasn't much light to speak of at all. It was cold, dark, the air was heavy from mist. I couldn't really see much of the place between the fog and lack of light. Blocks of stone stacked upon eachother were always at the edge of my vision when the mist would part. The air was too rich to be in a building though, I'm tempted to call it a ruin. This ruin was empty, mostly. In the center was a pedestal and on top of that..." she bit at her lip until he spoke again, "Was the puzzle box."

She took in a sharp breath. Puzzle box? "You mean... the one that the Death Eaters have? That they're trying to open?" That couldn't be possible. Why would that... her eyes widened. "It's from Ancient Greece." The moment the words were out of her mouth she wanted to slap her hand over her lips.

"Greece?" she flinched at his question. "Why do you say that?"

Hermione was silent for a moment, not sure what to say. He knew now though, and she couldn't take the words back. Now the Death Eaters would be one step closer to opening the box and getting to the weapon inside it. An idea clicked in her head a moment later, it was worth a shot anyway. "In the dream, was there anything different about it? Was it... protected somehow?" He always deflected her questions with more questions she should be able to do the same.

She was beginning to think it wouldn't work when he said a single word, "No," Hermione could see his brow furrow in thought. "It looked the same, all the pieces were still mismatched." She was barely able to hold in her sigh of relief. Even so, if the pieces had changed the dream wouldn't have given any hint to change them, would it? "It looked as if it had been protected though, there was a slit in the ground surrounding it shaped like a square," he went silent and she stared as he recalled the details from the dream, "On the sides there was an impression of a circle, like iron bars. It must have been surrounded by them before, but in the dream they had sunk into the sand, buried beneath it anyway. There were marks on the pedestal glowing at the start but then quickly grew dim when I approached... any protection for it was gone when I was in front of the pedestal." She glanced back down when he stopped speaking for a time. "Why do you think Anicent Greece has anything to do with the box?"

Her throat seemed to close. It hadn't worked. She needed something else then. There had to be something, some- "Was there anyone in the dream with you?" With the woman and skeleton in hers she figured it was a possibility and she needed more time to figure out how to go about answering his question if he continued to ask.

"No. If there was I didn't see anyone, or anything." His warm breath on her shoulder moved to her neck until she could feel his lips run along her ear when he spoke next, " _Hermione_."

Her name had come out low, in a growl that sent her heart hammering away in her chest. She shivered in his grip only to feel his arm tighten around her, to have another wrapping around her body not long after. It just made her heart quicken. "It... the woman was speaking in greek and there was letters in what I think is greek from in my dream."

His grip loosened and she found she could breath easier. "What letters?" Hermione took in quick breaths to try and slow the beating of her heart. "Hermione, could you write them?"

She glanced to him, still breathing quickly. His hand moved up her back, along her neck, before his fingers were pressing softly into her skull, getting tangled in her hair. She leaned into the touch, her pulse starting to calm and she nodded, "Yes." she still remembered the spelling on both the inn and the slate of stone perfectly.

He didn't move but she heard movement across the room, shuffling of parchment and the uncapping of a bottle of ink. In the next moment she found herself being rolled over with him, his other arm dropping to encircle her waist. It took her a few seconds to realize he had rolled onto his back and was now leaning up against the bedframe with her ontop of him... Her cheeks burned from the last time she had been in a similar position, though this time her back was pressed to his chest. A parchment and quill were floating above her and she grabbed for the writing utensil to write the letters down quickly onto the paper.

_-Inn_

_Opos kai parapano, etsi kai kato._

_-Stone_

_Edo vrisketai i aionia kolasi._

_Eimaste ena me ti sfaira._

She stared at the words after writing them, mind flashing to those too real dreams. "I..." she shook her head to disperse the path her thoughts had taken. "I got a greek english dictionary when I was at school." There was hardly a seconds pause until that same book came flying in through an open door that closed when it passed over the threshold.

His hand moved from her waist to grab it, opening it up before letting it go to float next to the parchment, the pages turning when he flicked his wrist. She watched him translate the words silently since he had taken the quill from her hand, writing out translations next to her own handwriting.

_-Inn_

_Opos kai parapano, etsi kai kato. / As Above, So Below._

_-Stone_

_Edo vrisketai i aionia kolasi. / Here Lies Eternal Hell._

_Eimaste ena me ti sfaira. / We Are One With The Realm._

She blinked in confusion at the inn, and then he had the bottom two done and she looked to them becoming even more confused. "Do you know what any of it means?" Barty's voice right next to her ear made her jump slightly and she felt his arm wrap back around her waist a second later.

"No... there was a star carved into the sign of the inn with the letters but," she frowned, "I don't know." Hermione ran the first line through her head again, "I guess... as above, so below with that star could be the night sky and... the earth? I'm not sure."

"Hell is below the earth," she shivered when her gaze dropped down to the line that mentioned it. Eternal hell... it would explain the flames and blood but that woman hadn't called it hell, the name she had given it didn't sound like any of the words in that sentance. Knowing what the words meant wasn't making her any less confused about the dream.

"I can't," she murmured, raising a hand to cover her eyes so she didn't have to see the words anymore that were starting to swim around in her mind.

"Hermione?" There was a rustle from the parchment, a thud when the bi-lingual dictionary was set ontop of the desk. His hand that had still been threading through her hair lowered to her forehead. "Are you okay?" She didn't respond, her head beginning to pound which she knew would lead to a nasty headache. This was all too much. She didn't want to think about the words but they kept slipping into her mind. Eternal hell... her life certainly seemed to be heading in that direction lately. "Maybe as above is heaven, it makes some sense with the mention of hell. Polar opposites."

"Maybe," she murmured, hoping that was it. Just some riddle. If Barty wanted to ponder over it and guess he could but she didn't want to think about it any longer. She just couldn't. What she needed was a distraction of some sort as her mind was starting to fill with other thoughts now. Her head hurt and she didn't want to concentrate on any of them but one stuck with her, "How did you get out of Azkaban, this time?"

The breath that had been continuous next to her ear seemed to halt and she tried to look back at him but the fingers still wrapped in her hair made it hard to get the appropriate angle. Even the slow rising and fall of his chest beneath her had stopped. She shut her eyes quickly, hoping he would just answer her question this one time. That she hadn't somehow made him angry- "Not now," she blinked, opening her eyes. His voice... she tilted her head further, finally able to catch sight of him from the corner of her eye.

She had expected for him to being looking anywhere but her, that she could get away with a quick glance but his eyes met her gaze. That hard look that had been present even in his school photo wasn't there anymore, it reminded her of the other weekend. I hurt him again, but how? It was just a question. She felt a spike in her blood, a rush of anger in her veins and she parted her lips to spit venom at him, "You can't tell me because you don't want to? Or because Voldemort doesn't want the Order knowing how he got a highly guarded prisoner out of Azkaban right under their noses?"

His gaze flickered away almost instantly, jaw set. "Not now, Hermione."

"Then when?" she snapped, trying to catch his eye again but he wasn't looking at her and that hand in her hair tightened as if to stop her from trying. "You're going to have to answer me eventually Barty! You can't keep evading me like this!" she brought her hand up as she spoke to try and disentangle his hand from her hair. "Let go!" Her fingers twisted and she yelped when a harsh tug of her own was rewarded with pain lancing through her already pounding skull. Fingers quickly brushed over the spot and she hissed as it was his hand, his fingers massaging the place causing the pain to dampen. Inflicting pain on her one minute to be taking it away the next. This was bloody ridiculous! "I told you to let go-"

"No."

"Barty!" she shouted, twisting her fingers deeper into the mass of curls even though his own seemed to keep evading hers without a problem.

"I'm not letting you go until you calm down."

"Until I calm down!" she twisted now but his arm around her waist just locked downaround her. "All I want is the answer to my question! I want to know how you got out and why Voldemort chose _you_ of all people to get the information from me! Hell, he could have recruited someone I didn't already know instead of you!"

"Hermione-"

"Don't you tell me to calm down again Barty Nyle Crouch Junior! You never answer any of my questions and yet you torture my answers from me! You fucking manipulated me! Bastard!" she wasn't sure how long she continued, just that her own screams added to the ache in her head. That his damn fingers kept taking away the worst of it. That her own were so tangled she had stopped trying to move them because whenever she did it just made the pain worse.

By the end she found herself sobbing. Not completely sure why she was crying but unable to stop. Barty was speaking softly again, "...there. Don't worry about any of it right now. I already told you I won't do that again," her sniffle could be heard when he paused, "I shouldn't have done that." She just blinked and continued crying unsure of what he was even reffering to. He shouldn't have done any of it, and yet, it sounded as if he was talking about something specific.

The words kept getting caught in her throat as to what he had meant were blocked even by a soft hybrid of a hiccup and a sob. It took a few more minutes until most of her tears had subsided and she had control of her voice again. When she first parted her lips though she winced. Her throat felt like it had been rubbed raw and practically stung when she managed to get a word out, "Why?" she watched as his hand pulled stray strands of her hair from her face. "Why not?" Hermione repeated, not even trying to make sense of his whispers from before anymore. She just wanted to know why he wouldn't answer her.

The silence was beginning to become unbearable and she was about to try and wrestle her way out of his grip again when he muttered, "So I don't have to lie to you."

For a moment she held her tongue, letting his words sink in. With how much honesty seemed to matter to him his answer didn't fully surprise her, but, "Is the truth that bad?"

"Not to me." Hermione frowned. What was that suppose to mean? How could the truth be bad to one person and good to another? Wasn't it one or the other?

She sighed, wishing she could raise her other hand to her forehead and try to rub the headache away. Her gaze slid around the room-then back. An A and M glowed in the flicker of a candle that highlighted the arms of the clock a second later. She stared at it for a few long seconds, "I have to go." There was a disgruntled mutter above her, though she had no idea why he would want to keep her here after all her yelling. He really is insane. "Now." Not really now, more like three hours ago. "Barty, let me go, please. I'm calm but I'm not going to be calm much longer if I miss another class."

It took a moment but his arm slipped from her waist, hand retracting from her hair and slowly pulling her own from the mass of curls. She was going to have to brush it before she could get to her next class. "Hermione," she paused in her now sitting position as she had started to get up. Turning her head she glanced to Barty to seem him closer than she had suspected he was. His own eyes only inches from hers. "Can I kiss you?"

She blinked, staring at him. Since when did he ask? She was just somone he used-Hermione flinched then. No, not only him. She had used him to. To keep him and her out of the Prophet and keep the Ministry in their desperate scramble to use them. "Yes," a smile slowly crossed his features. She didn't see all of it before his lips were on hers and she closed her eyes trying to ignore the beating of her heart as he left soft feather-light kisses on her mouth before moving to her cheek. "I have to go," she repeated, voice no louder than a whisper this time. With some effort she pulled away, only opening her eyes when she had turned to face the wall and wouldn't seem him still lying on the bed, shirtless and staring after her as she walked from the room. If the two burning holes on her bare back was any indicator.

When she got to Defense Against the Dark Arts with her school robes on and hair brushed to get rid of the knots she had walked quickly to her seat when Snape's back was turned, to have Ron immediately hiss under his breath, "Where have you been?"

"That's an excellent question." Hermione's mouth snapped shut turning her gaze slowly to the front of the room were Professor Snape stood, glaring down his hooked nose at her. "You missed half of my class Miss Granger and I recall hearing you weren't at your first class either. Twenty points from Gryffindor!"

"Twenty?"

"Do you have a permission form Miss Granger?"

"No, but-"

"Then there is no reason for you to be late to my class. The only excuse that will work is if you were at the Ministry and Dumbledore would have recieved notifaction if that was the case and told me _and_ your other Professor that you weren't able to come to class today." Snape's eyes narrowed, "I expect students to learn in my classroom not cause a ruckus-"

"I didn't-" Hermione protested. No one had made a sound when she came in and there had been no ruckus!

"-and disrupt my teachings." he finished as if she hadn't spoken. There was an unpleasant pause before he snapped, "Ten more points from Gryffindor!" before walking back to the front of the classroom to continue his lecture that she hadn't disrupted.

"Greasy old bat," Ron hissed under his breath and Hermione saw Harry nod his head in agreement before glancing to Hermione.

"Where were you?" he whispered behind his book.

"At home," she said quickly while fishing her book from her pack so she wasn't facing him. So he wouldn't see the slight blush on her cheeks, both from lying and the fact that she could still remember the feel of Barty's kisses on her skin. "My parents got the full document for the law and flipped out all over again."

Harry nodded his head sympathetically just before Snape's voice cut through the air again, "That's five more points from Gryffindor, Potter. I'll be sure to tell McGonagall exactly who lost the points."

Harry muttered something under his breath, thankfully Snape didn't seem to hear and Hermione nudged him with her shoulder to make sure he wouldn't say anything else throughout the class.


	21. Chapter 21

"By Merlin, why would you seek to aggravate Snape?" McGonagall said while setting a quill aside, looking up from the half-marked test on her desk to the students infront of her. "You know he has it in for you in particular Potter, and Granger, did you have to talk back?" Yes. "As well as miss your first class and half of Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Okay, not that. Hermione blamed Barty for that. "Potter, detention this weekend, my office. You are dismissed."

She bit her lip as Harry turned and walked from the room, catching a scowl across his face before he went out of the door that closed behind him. With it shut now she started to speak, "Professor-"

"How come you weren't at your classes this morning? You've never missed class before. What could possibly be more important?" McGonagall asked with a deep frown etched on to her face.

"My parents," Hermione said quickly, remembering what she had told her friend. It was better than the truth anyway- _oh_. That's what it had meant when he said that. The truth could be good for one person to know but bad for another. But why would it be bad for her to know how he got out of Azkaban? She sighed, whatever the reason she didn't have time to think about it right now. "I was staying with them the other night like I always do after being out with Blaise for the day and this morning they saw the document detailing the law and... basically all hell broke loose. My mum got upset when I told her about the marriage law before but this time she completely flipped out and my dad wasn't much help in the matter either. He wasn't actually there when I told my mother so he heard about it first from her rather than me," she took a breath, hating herself for the card she was about to pull but she couldn't very well tell McGonagall that the reason she was late today was because she had been with Bartemius Crouch Junior. This woman knew he wasn't a reformed Death Eater like The Prophet was trying to make him out to be. Like the Ministry wanted everybody to believe. "I'm sorry Professor, I just wasn't paying attention to the time and-"

"It's okay," her gut twisted at how easily those words had worked. "This new law has been hard on everyone. I just hope all the students in my House keep getting lucky with their matches. Obviously it's worked out well for you and Blaise so far. He's a decent Slytherin," My match isn't a Slytherin though. He was sorted into Ravenclaw when he attended this school and he grew to be a follower of Voldemort. He's the man that brought him back, along with the stupid rat. She found herself wondering what McGonagall would say if she knew the truth. Calling him decent was likely to be the last on the list. Murderer, lunatic, manipulative acting bastard. Those all sounded like things that would be on top of her list. Especially with the events of fourth year... "Doesn't cause too much trouble, even if he is friends with Malfoy."

Those stupid pranks Malfoy pulled couldn't come close to what her husband had done. The fact that McGonagall was basically comparing Barty to Malfoy made her want to laugh, but she kept it in, her face neutral on that matter. "I'm really sorry Professor-" Hermione said as she grabbed her bag of books, moving the strap over her shoulder. The skin there still seemed to tingle from all the kisses Barty had laid on it.

"Hermione," she frowned at the tone of voice, looking back up at her Professor who let out a sigh, "I still need you to come in for detention," McGonagall paused as if considering her next words, "Be in my office with Potter this weekend."

Her heart felt like it had just jumped straight from her chest into her throat. "W-weekend?" she couldn't do that. It was impossible t-

"The law requires for you to simply be in the same vicinity as your match for three days," Three days? It was two. The weekend. She didn't see her match until the weekend and if she didn't fill the requirements of the law they would... they would... "I know this will cut into the usual time you two have aside from Hogwarts-" He isn't in Hogwarts! She was tempted to scream if her voice wasn't still recovering from this morning. If it wouldn't mess up everything she had set up to make sure no one knew that little fact. "You'll just have to cancel whatever plans you made for this week-" Cancel what? A picnic in Grand Central Park? Wherever the fuck that was. She didn't have anything to cancel! The law certainly wasn't going to allow her to put off her weekly just because she got detention! "I'm sure Blaise will understand-" Blood pounded in her ears, drowning out the words. Her vision seemed to fold in on itself as her breath came fast, "G-an-e-?" McGonagall must have raised her voice since some of it filtered through, but she couldn't make heads or tails of it. Her head swam, seeing black dots that kept growing larger... and then there was pain shooting up her arm.

**/ / /**

"Miss Granger!"

The shout from inside the office made Harry turn to the door reaching out to open it when McGonagall appeared in the doorway, the slam of the door connecting with the stone wall filling the classroom. "Professor?" Harry turned to look into the office spotting Hermione's body on the floor.

"Potter, get out of the way. I'm taking Granger to the infirmary."

"What happened?" Harry asked as McGonagall waved her want to levitate Hermione off of the ground. "Professor?" he pressed, taking a step forward when she didn't say anything immediately.

McGonagall frowned, looking to him, "She passed out. Now get out of the way, Potter."

He blinked, stepping back. "Pomfrey is out today though-" How was taking Hermione to the infirmary going to help her then?

"The school sent for a nurse at Saint Mungos. Don't you have somewhere else to be?" Barely a second later the professor was out the door with his levitated friend. Harry didn't hesitate to get out of the room and track down Ginny and Ron to tell them what had happened.

**/ / /**

It was dark. If she could see she imagined it would just be shadows. Unless it was just some sort of eternal darkness with not even a flicker of light-

A throb in her shoulder cut through her thoughts and she winced, eyes opening a moment later. Even so she didn't see anything for a couple seconds, dark blotches across her vision shrunk down, clearing slowly so she could see gray stone along with beds opposite of her against an opposing wall. They had rails on the sides... the infirmary. What was she doing here?

"Oh, you're up." A familiar, too cheerful voice came from her right, "Just stay laying down for now as I apply the balm. It might sting a bit but otherwise you shouldn't feel much besides being a little sore from that fall you took."

"Fall?" Hermione turned her head to the left, noticing her school robe slung over one of the chairs. How the heck had she gotten here? She didn't remember falling, just her vision going black, her heart beating too loud in her ears, and something else. Something about...

"You passed out back in McGonagall's office. From what she told me you seem to have gone into a panic attack and blacked out because of it." The nurse speaking made her thoughts shatter and she struggled for a moment to regain them before giving up. Her head hurt too much to think about it right now. "When you fell though you hit your head," That certainly explained the pounding in her skull. "You landed on your shoulder mostly so that's going to be sore for a few days and you have some bruising along your arm as well. It'll go away in time."

There was a soft pop to her right as a container was opened and Hermione turned her head to look at the woman, blinking when she recognized her. "Mrs. Vandis?" What was her nurse doing in Hogwarts?

"Just stay still for a moment," Hermione flinched almost right after the last word left the medi-witch. A warm substance was being rubbed into her shoulder, sending out little stinging sensations whenever it was moved around. Thankfully they lessened after each time until she didn't even feel it any longer. The feeling returned though when she felt the balm rubbed along her arm as well in smaller doses. "There. That wasn't too bad was it, Cupcake?"

She opened her mouth to say it hadn't been that bad but stopped to stare at the nurse. Did she just call her that? Or was she just not hearing her correctly? Though if that was the case she could only be calling her one other thing, "Don't call me that."

Mrs. Vandis just smiled at the sharp tone in her voice. "What? Cupcake? Or Cr-" Hermione's eyes widened, hands going up to cover her mouth but the nurse stepped back with a laugh. "I got the memo from the Ministry. Don't worry the only other person in here is a student and they're fast asleep, knock-out potion for their own good. The patient was moving too much when they needed to be lying down and healing." She took a moment to put the cap back on the container holding the rest of the stinging balm inside.

Hermione took it as her chance to ask, "Why are you calling me that? It's Granger to you."

"No," Mrs. Vandis set the container aside, "It's Granger to everyone here and the general public. Now I understand why you made the decision considering some of the supposed, 'scandals' that the Daily Prophet is writing about and what they would do with your situatuion if they heard about it. But, I'm not going to call you by a name that you don't use anymore. And since I can't call you by your last name, and don't know you well enough to use your first name, you are, Cupcake, to me." Bloody perfect.

She frowned looking back to her robe. "Can I go now?"

"Not yet, I want you to stay here for a couple hours and if you do get up I would suggest not doing it too fast. Your friends are waiting outside and want to come in to see you. Apparently it's important. So, I'll let them come in but you can't be trying to escape with them, okay?"

Hermione sighed, "Fine." her arm was sore anyways, pushing herself up with it would probably just result in more pain and she didn't need to be getting a headrush like the nurse had mentioned.

"Great!" Vandis started to turn but then looked back over her shoulder at Hermione, "One more thing, keep the sleeve up as the solution sets in or else it'll get your shirt sticky." She glanced down to mentioned sleeve as heels tapped across the wood and she could hear a door open.

"Hermione," she glanced towards the door to see Harry, Ron, and Ginny running over to her bedside. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just some bruising." Hermione pushed herself up with her uninjured arm so she was sitting with her back against pillows instead of lying down, to convince her friends further. "Mrs. Vandis said you had something important to tell me?"

"Yeah, I was waiting for you to come out of McGonagall's office before when she gave both of us detention," from his frown he obviously didn't think they should have gotten detention, "Slughorn wants the both of us to come to his Slug Club meeting next week, it's during a school day so I said you should be able to make it."

Well, atleast Slughorn was considerate when it came to her time with her match on the weekends, unlike McGonagall. Her fingers curled into the white sheets beneath them at the reminder that she had detention. She was going to need to get around that somehow. "I'll be there," she replied, wondering if she still would have been invited if she had missed his class. "You should leave now, or else Mrs. Vandis will probably kick you out."

"When will you be out?" Ginny asked, apparently able to squeeze a word in now that Harry had stopped talking.

"In a few hours I think. I'm not in bad shape so I should be down in the hall for dinner."

"Okay, get better."

"I will." Hermione replied.

"Yeah, you rest up and we'll see about getting on McGonagall's good side." Ron said, then hurried as if to clarify, "Not for you to go see Blaise this weekend-"

" _Ron_!" Ginny practically yelled, punching her brother in the process, "Don't be rude and get that stick out of your ass."

"Ow! You're the one with a stick up their ass." Ron dodged another punch as he continued, "I'm just saying the Slytherins got out of their detention early over that boggart incident. There's no reason you can't get out early over a little back talk and skipped classes."

Hermione smiled slightly, glad Ron wasn't taking another punch at her supposed match. "Thanks."

"Just you wait. You'll probably only be in there for an hour when I'm done with the professor."

"Shut up Ron. You'll make her stay longer." Ginny said, grabbing his arm and Hermione watched the three walked out with Ron protesting that he could to shorten the time instead of lengthening it.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You get to have your first actual look at the Lagata Macul in this fic, which will (and has) appear/ed in other fics of mine. Joy! (by the way, i completely forget what latin words i combined to make the title so trying google translate won't help you if you're curious. but it should help you if you want to translate the bit in here for no apparent reason[though that's in nepali, blame the author for the million and one languages it uses, and thank Barty and other previous owners for the random notes])
> 
> Also, I have not stopped updating. So with that out of the way please enjoy the latest installment, tell me what you think after reading, the usual.

Her mind was currently spinning as she turned a corner, looking down the hall before making her way to the next one. Seriously, why was it so hard to find one person? She knew where the Slytherin Commons were and had gone there first, asking the first Syltherin she saw where Blaise was. Of course, they hadn't had a clue.

She bit at her lip, chewing on the skin as she dodged around a ghost to look down another hall. Where was he? She hadn't even see Draco during her search who she was sure would know where his friend was. Who designed this school to be so large? It might as well be a maze of halls and classrooms with the way it breached out with no particular care for the direction. The stairs weren't much help either since they were always moving around, not caring for where a student was trying to go unless classes were in session. It must have seemed like a good idea at the time of Hogwarts creation. All of these enhanced the magical feel of the castle but right now she just found it frustrating.

Where the bloody hell was he? This was important! She needed to speak with him or else there was no way her plan would work, everyone would know she didn't go to see Blaise during the weekends if she couldn't find him before then.

Tomorrow would be the day. Just the reminder set her on edge. Detention afterwards. A detention she couldn't afford to be at if her match was going to stay a secret.

With a mutter she rounded another corner, cursing the building and ignoring a portait that told her to, 'mind her manners.' "Blaise!" she shouted, upon seeing the Slytherin robes down the hall. When the figure turned she let out a sigh of relief and raced down the hall to him. "Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you! Didn't any of the other Slytherins tell you that? I left a message with each one. How could you not even contact me-"

"Hey!" Blaise threw his arms up into the air and she paused. "I didn't know you were looking for me. I swear."

Hermione sucked in a breath, trying to get air back in her lungs after all her racing around to find him loitering in a random hallway of all things. She scowled at him, "I told the other Slytherins that I was looking for you. Surely you have some sneaky ways to get messages to each other."

Blaise took a step back. "We might. Other Slytherins, are the key words here though. You may be my match, hypothetically speaking that is, but you're still a Gryffindor and quite honestly you don't look very friendly right now." At her frown he continued quickly, "I'm not saying you're-Merlin. There Slytherins okay? House rivalry doesn't disappear because of some law, if they said they would tell me they were likely just joking with you. I'm sorry."

She sighed. It was something she probably should have expected but still, this was important and those idiots had hindered her instead of helping her. If she found any of the Slytherins she had talked to today-no not right now. She had found Blaise, she would find time to strangle those snakes later. "Whatever. I need you to go out with your match this weekend."

"Pardon?"

"This weekend," Hermione repeated, the desperation she had felt all day starting to seep into her voice now, "I need you to get away from Hogwarts, okay? If anyone asks about it just say it's some sort of unrefundable ticket or something... I don't know, make it up."

"Um, Hermione? Aren't you forgetting that you have detention this weekend? Snape told me about it after McGonagall told him so I would know to stay here. I can't just... leave."

She stared at him for a moment. What? Then it hit her. Of course Snape would tell him that, because the detention was during the weekend but- "I thought you liked being away from Hogwarts with your match during the weekend."

"Yes, but-"

"Look, I don't care what Snape said, told you, whatever," Hermione interupted as she was now scowling at him. This couldn't possibly be happening. She needed him away from this school so her alibi checked out later. "Just leave the school. It doesn't matter, okay? The detention thing doesn't matter. Go with your match, ignore what Snape said. Have a... whatever with your match. You _cannot_ be here this weekend."

"What do you plan to do? Skip detention after skipping class?" She glared at the exaggeration in his tone. "If it is it's just not the most orginal plan and they'll figure it out pretty quickly."

She couldn't help but roll her eyes at this. "They will not figure it out too quickly if you're not here and out with your match this weekend. Besides, you got your detention shortened by Snape, and leading a boggart into the Great Hall to scare the first years is more of an offense than not being able to go to class because you were arguing with your parents about the law. At least, that's what a sane person would think." She still couldn't believe him and Malfoy had been left off that easily. One of the benchs for the Hufflepuff table had broken during the boggart fiasco and yet Snape had intervened in what had been McGonagall's punishment for the two. Her blood was pounding again, but for a completely different reason than on Monday. "Why would you lead a boggart into the Great Hall anyway? Were you just that bored? You're Malfoy's friend, aren't you? Don't you know how to tell your friends when something is a bad idea so stuff like that doesn't happen in the first place?" Her voice had risen so much that she was on the verge of screaming by the time she paused for a breath, reaching up with her hand to rub lightly at her throat.

Blaise took a step closer and she could see he was looking at the bruise that ran down the upper part of her right arm. "That was... circumstantial." He turned to look her in the eye then. "Draco also has this sort of agreement with Snape this year, which is why we got out of the detention early. We did that to scare the first years though like you said, not... you and the rest of the school in the process. I probably should have apologized for that before." She nodded slightly at this, still rubbing at her throat. Apparently it hadn't fully recovered from Monday. "It's not like we knew a Death Eater would appear. I know that sounds stupid, but Draco needed that prank to go right. As his friend I couldn't say no because of what's been going on this year. What with the Death Eaters out and Draco..." Blaise sighed, "He's not himself this year. If you're friend looked the way he does these days even you would do what you could to cheer him up. He's a wreck and..."

This time when he paused Hermione frowned, it was longer this time and Blaise looked nervous, like he didn't want to say it. "And?" she asked, not sure if she wanted to hear what he was thinking about saying.

Blaise relented, "At the Hog's Head, after you left he mentioned knowing who your match is." She blinked, staring at him. Her mind was already spinning, crashing right through the safeguard along the cliff. That would mean- "He didn't tell me anything. He just mentioned it. I don't know who your match is, but he knows and I thought you should know."

The words might as well have tumbled from his mouth like a waterfall with how fast they came out. Even so her mind slowed and she sighed in relief. The absolute last thing she needed was anyone at school knowing who her match was, and now that she knew Blaise didn't know about Barty it made sense. Draco was a Malfoy, his parents already knew about her match. Hell, they had been there when she was married off to him by the Ministry. It really shouldn't be that surprising that he knew. Besides he hadn't told Blaise who it was, just that he knew. Everything was fine then. Her match still wasn't known by the general public. No one would be gawking at her, whispering behind her back... None of that was happening. "Thanks for telling me."

Blaise nodded, looking relieved himself only to be staring past her in the next second. Hermione whirled around quickly to see who he was staring at, why he looked so shocked. She really should have pulled him into one of the empty classrooms for this. That was the one concurring thought going through her head until she met eye contact with another girl.

Daphne Greengrass stood in the middle of the hallway, eyes moving between the two, a partial frown on her face as she walked forward. Hermione took a step back when she passed her to Blaise. "So," Daphne stopped, looking at Blaise with narrowed eyes. "We're going this weekend then as well. Why didn't you tell me so I could get the plans back in place that you screwed up with this foolishness?"

For a second Blaise just stood there, mouth hanging open, and then it slammed shut a moment later. "You do remember what Snape said-"

"No." Daphne said firmly, scowling at him now and Hermione could only think how sorry she felt for him right now, being glared at like that. "Snape _asked_ you to not go anywhere this weekend, he didn't tell you not to. He didn't explicitly say, 'Blaise, I don't want you going out this weekend with your match.' It was a request, not an order. Stop acting like it is." The Slytherin turned then, eyes landing on Hermione, the glare no longer present even in the depths of green. "We'll be gone this weekend. You won't have to worry about us being here."

Hermione blinked. So... Daphne was Blaise's match. She hoped her knowing this didn't suddenly stop their agreement. "Thank you." she said, looking to Blaise then, "Both of you." It was a relief that they wouldn't be here. A part of her plan was done now, the major part anyway. It would be time for the next part soon enough and she turned to run back down the hall to get to the Gryffindor Tower.

**/ / /**

There was an explosion to the right, though Ginny didn't look over at the younger years currently playing Exploding Snap. She was opting to ignore the loud bursts that came from them every other second it seemed. It was in these instances she wished her brothers were still at Hogwarts to make fun of the group and their amateur tactics. So they would just stop and the Commons wouldn't be quite so loud. So that she could hear the conversation Harry and Ron were having just a foot away on the couch. Instead all she could hear were snippets.

"...how would that work? With the..."

"Yeah, I know, the bludger..."

"...bat, or there's..."

From what it sounded like it was about Quidditch. Tryouts had just finished last week and soon Harry would need to put up a training schedule for the new team. McGonagall was likely to look over it, make sure the pitch was available for the days they wanted it. Some of those days would be regretted as it got colder and they started having to practice in the rain.

Ginny glanced to the door leading to the Professors room, temporarily not paying attention to the words coming through between the exploding snaps. It was because of her that the Gryffindor team would be practicing this weekend without their team captain and she was sure that was on purpose. Also completely uncalled for considering what she had heard about what happened in Snape's room. Ron had been louder and yet Harry was singled out for talking behind a book. Hermione as well, it made more sense that she was given detention for not being at her classes, but they were both given the same time and place. It was unfair.

She supposed it had something to do with Snape cutting Malfoy's detention short for his prank that had made quite a few younger students have nightmares. Not that Ginny could blame them. Even if those children hadn't been here when Barty was disguised as Moody, completely playing the teachers, the students even. He almost killed Harry. He might as well have killed Cedric Diggory since he had made the goblet into a port key.

That still made her sad whenever she thought about it. None of it should have happened. It should have been a friendly competition between the three schools but it ended up a horror story instead. These students should not be having trouble sleeping because of a Slytherin's prank that otherwise would have been quite harmless compared to others. They shouldn't be coming down the stairs to wake up McGonagall and be reassured that none of them were going to die. That the Death Eaters couldn't get into the school. That Voldemort wasn't going to kill any of them.

With a sigh she turned back to look at Harry and Ron, the explosion of a snap still rebounding from one side of her head to the other when the bang of the door reached her ears. It took a moment for her to differentiate the sound from the snaps but then she turned to glance over at the door, to see Hermione walking quickly across the room, heading straight to the stairs leading up to the girl dorms.

"Hermione!" She stopped and turned at Harry's call, looking slightly annoyed. "Could you come over for a second? We got a new theory on that box-"

"I don't have the time right now Harry," she said and then was gone, up the stairs within the next second.

Ron huffed from his seat and Ginny stood to walk over until the students started playing their game again after the small interruption. "Is it just me or is Hemione ignoring us?"

"It's just you." Ginny told him with a frown as she sat on the arm of the couch next to Harry.

Ron scowled at her. "It is not just me. How many times have you seen her this week?" She rolled her eyes, it was a bit of an unfair question since she didn't have any classes with her what with being a year below all of them. "Harry?"

He shrugged when the question was redirected at him. "She's been like this since Monday. It's probably because of the detention this weekend," he scowled here, "Can't say I blame her. It should have been during the week. You saw her at the infirmary, the bruises when she fell. When she got the detention it upset her quite a bit. It's not like she's ignoring you to ignore you."

"Define that last sentence please." Ron requested giving his friend a frown of his own.

Harry just laughed. "You know what I mean. It's nothing personal." He turned toward Ginny then, "Could you run the theory by her? Since she ran to the dorms."

"Sure." Ginny said, hopping off of the furniture. "I'll be right back and tell you what she thinks." With a wave she turned and headed across the room and up the stairs. Considering the new theory was made a few days ago she imagined that was the reason Ron thought Hermione was avoiding them. Since they hadn't been able to find her afterwards, but then again she hadn't seen her except for when eating at the Great Hall for the most part this week. Ron was just taking it personally.

She stopped infront of the door leading to the sixth year room, knocking before opening the door and slipping inside. Hermione was the only one in the room, sitting on the edge of her bed and now looking at the door, having slammed a drawer closed that she had appeared to be going through before Ginny walked into the room. "Hey Gin," she said.

Ginny took a moment to close the door behind her before walking further into the room to sit on the bed opposite of Hermione. "Hey, I'm just here to run that theory by you really quick. Harry wants your opinion on it." A second passed before there was a nod from her friend. "Well, we have this theory on how to open the box. We we're thinking, since we couldn't track down the country of it's origin that it may include numerous countires and would take multiple languages to open-"

"It's just one language."

"Huh?"

"Greek." Hermione said, but when Ginny waited for her to elaborate she didn't. Instead she just said, "I have to get a few things ready for tomorrow."

"Sure." Ginny said and stood back up before heading out the door, trying to push down the feeling that Hermione had essentialy just pushed her out of the room.

**/ / /**

_Ring!_

Her eyes flew open when the alarm went off and she sat up, pushing the curtain aside to see Lavender peering our from behind her own curtain. "Turn that damn thing off, it's four in the morning and on a Saturday." The curtain closed with a flap of cloth but Hermione just smiled as she reached over and turned the alarm off, glancing at the time to see there was ten minutes left. By that time Lavender should be sleeping again with the rest of her dorm mates and she wouldn't be here.

Hermione settled back into her bed again, moving the curtain back into place. Her hand went straight to the silver and onyx earrings. She still didn't know how to activate them after all the research she had done this week to try and figure out how Barty had made them timed and only go in the one direction instead of to and from a designated place like the usual portkey. To activate them herself and go right now instead of waiting, or even have the option to leave earlier. With her plan done she just hoped McGonagall wasn't up and wandering the dorms for anyone that might be sneaking out. If she got caught somehow then all of this would be for nothing.

Her hand lowered, slipping into her pocket, thumb moving over the small black silk box within. It had held the earrings before and was still empty currently even though she had told herself she would find something to put in it. She hadn't found anything so far, nothing that would fit anyway. Even if she put an extendable charm on the box it was still to small for most items and wouldn't be able to be very deep since only a few of her fingers could fill in the space that was available. She rolled her thumb over the fabric for a few seconds before retracting her hand and closing her eyes, just waiting for the world to feel like it was spinning. For the air to pick up around her, as if she was twirling.

When it did come the sound of air rushing past her body filled her ears and hers alone. The small charms on the curtains held most of the sound in, within the next few minutes the charms would disappear as if she had never set them there. As if she hadn't planned any of it.

The air stilled around her and she opened her eyes, blinking at the thin streaks of grey light reaching across the room from the lone window. It was quiet, the room was devoid of anyone inside and... She blinked again when her gaze went up, the light fixture that had been attached to the ceiling was gone. The snakes with the lights hanging from their fangs were no longer there, instead it was a raven's eye just in the middle of the fan.

Wait. That was the same...

She looked back to the window, to the bench beneath that was now devoid of the lock. Mainly because it had been moved to the fan, it was no longer glowing. Hermione reached down, fingers coming in contact with her wand. It was still there? She gripped the wood, pulling it out from the inner pocket to look it over in the dim light. It was hers, not a fake then. Not a replica that just appeared in its place. Why did she still have it?

Hermione glanced up, scanning the room for life once again before making her way to her room and setting her wand on the side table. She just stared at it for a moment as if it would disappear like all the other times she came here. More than a month and each time it would be gone from her person seconds after she was in the house. Except for this time. Why?

She turned from the table to walk out of her room and back into the hall, only stopping once more when she was infront of the one other room she had been inside that wasn't a bedroom. The complicated lock was still in place. It hadn't moved like everything else so far. She still wasn't sure what to make of any of it as she turned from that door going down the hallway to push open the one leading to his room.

Her nose crinkled almost immediately and she raised a hand to cover it and keep the odd odor from getting into her nostrils. There was a noise to her right, something bubbling, the sound of a flame flickering. "Barty?" she questioned as she turned to see him standing infront of his desk, a cauldron on top of it. "What is that?" It smelled horrible, made her stomach twist. She could have sworn her eyes had begun to roll into the back of her head when she first stepped into the room. Whatever it was it certainly wasn't healthy to be brewing it in a room with no windows and the door closed.

"Sa eko chala." Was all he said while flickering through some pages in a book, continuing to stir the potion as he did. After a moment of him not explaining further she stepped closer to look down at one of the pages.

_Sa eko chala bharata ko jadu mantralayale amdhyaro jadu manincha. Vyapaka ajnata yo ausadhi bhu ana kalo bajara ma varsaundekhi udanga cha tapani. Kehi jiva sataha narama ra khanna garna sajilo bana'era paus ika ahara eka biruva avasyakata nabha'eko manincha ki bhu'imma malako rupama prayoga tapani yo mukhya rupa dekhi eka visa rupama prayoga garincha. Eka visa rupa ma yo dherai jadu'i prajati visakta cha ra garincha bhane andara bahira sa i dvara jadu niyantra a garna sakne ti (saman yataya pi'una rupama khana visa bhanga ra yo kama prabhavakari bana'una sakcha)._

_Sathai sarpa chala cinine._ _Lizard skin_ _. Snake? Serpent Skin._

_[IK: DABMs- as defined by the Ministry of Magic] *fuck the Ministries_

She stopped trying to read it when it went back to the unfamiliar text in a list format. The ingredient list she guessed, but otherwise she wasn't sure what any of it said. The Ministry obviously didn't think highly of the potion and she frowned at the substance bubbling in the cauldron.

The liquid was thick, black, and it smelled like death. When one of the bubbles popped vapors reached into the air, a sort of sick brown in color. It just increased the stench and she clapped her hand firmly over her mouth to try and still her stomach. What the hell was it? She hadn't read anything like this in her own books. From the way it looked though, the way it smelled... it had to be dark magic. Parting her fingers so she could be heard she asked, "Is it for the Death Eaters? To use against the Order?"

Barty continued to stir the mixture that seemed to get thicker every second as he turned to look at her. "No. It's not for the Order." So it was for the Death Eaters then. Even if he didn't say it it was obvious to her. Anything that looked like that could only be used by dark wizards.

"What do you plan to do with it?" she asked, letting her hand drop when he put out the flame beneath the cauldron, a lid now on top that made it easier for her to breath without feeling the need to retch.

"I'm just making it."

Her lips tugged down into a frown. There he went again, avoiding her question. Considering what she had seen of the potion maybe it was better she didn't know what it was, could do, was going to be used for. Since he wasn't talking about it further it was better to ask something he was more likely to answer anyway. "You moved the lock."

His gaze met hers at the statement. "It was never a lock," he said, and she saw his gaze flicker down to her hands within the next second.

She opened them so her empty palms were facing up. "I don't have it. It's in my room." Hermione let her hands hang by her sides. "Why aren't you... keeping it away from me?" The question had been bothering her since she noticed her wand hadn't been taken from her.

"Are you still planning to curse me with it?"

She blinked at his question. At the fact that he was still answering her questions with other questions. Hermione felt a scowl start to twist her lips. "No. Should I change my plans? I could go and get it from my room, just accio it over and curse you if that's what you want."

Her eyes had narrowed at him as she spoke and now she was glaring at him. While he just stood there, peeling back gloves that must have been used to keep the ingredients of that potion off his skin. The last one wasn't even fully off when he just smiled at her and said, "Good." Her eyes widened, just staring at him now. What did he mean _good_?

"Bar-"

She stopped short when he leaned over and she felt lips press briefly to her forehead. A hand on her shoulder an instant later, turning her towards the door before sliding off, his fingers running down her bare arm in the process. Only to clasp around her wrist and she felt herself pulled forward until she was out of his room, until the door was shut behind her and he was no longer gripping her wrist.

Hermione blinked, standing in the hallway as she watched him walk down and turn the corner. What... just happened?

She shook her head quickly and moved swiftly through the hall to see he was in the living room now. To see the raven's eye glowing from it's place on the fan so the room wasn't dark like when she had arrived. It wasn't too bright either, though she didn't focus on the new light fixture for too long. Her gaze went to Barty who was currently on the couch with a quill in hand and writing on a piece of parchment. After a second of hesitation she walked over, sliding onto the couch and curling her legs beneath her as she looked at him.

He seemed to be in a good enough mood, it would probably be fine to ask him something more personal now. While he stayed like this, however long that lasted. She pushed away any thoughts of why he was like this. Any thoughts of something going horribly wrong for the Order. If anything had gone wrong she couldn't do a single thing about it now anyways.

"Can I ask you something?" She watched as he continued writing, seeing the nod she continued, "The other week," she began, blinking when his quill stopped on a letter before pressing on, "Monday morning when I woke up and you were," she hesitated for a moment not sure how to word it. The quill started writing again and she frowned slightly. Why had he stopped in the first place? "I just, uh, I don't remember when I umm..." She took a moment to clear her throat. "Did I take off your shirt?"

"What?" He wasn't looking at the parchment anymore, instead his gaze was on her. "No, I changed before going to sleep."

Oh. "Right," she muttered, looking down at her hands so she didn't have to look at him. "And, that's uh..." What word was suppose to work best here? Normal? Of course it was, these questions were just stupid, a total waste of time.

She sighed, fingers curling into the loose threads of the couch and she found herself wondering why he kept the furniture in this state. Why did he switch the snake lights out for the raven's eye? Was he just too busy before or was it a spur of the moment sort of thing? That certainly seemed to be the case with her wand. It was still sitting on her dresser. He hadn't even answered her question about why he gave it back to her. Why was he so... chipper today? Why couldn't she tell him-Tell him? Tell him what? Her fingers dug deeper into the furniture as she dipped her head down even further, as the burn in her cheeks seemed to increase. By Merlin, why the bloody hell was she _blushing_?

"Hermione? Are you okay?"

 _No, no, no._ "I have to uh," go, the word almost slipped out. Though she couldn't just leave like she wanted. What she needed was an excuse. "I have essa-" she stopped short when fingers brushed against her chin and she tried to turn her head away, to the side. The fingers had curled though and her gaze was moving up rather than down. Her eyes were on him rather than anywhere but him, like she wanted.

He was closer than the last time she had been looking at him. Watching him rather, writing out a letter to a Death Eater most likely-"Hermione?" Her thoughts scrambled once again, staying hidden when she tried to get ahold of them.

"Barty," she snapped her mouth shut when it opened of it's own accord, without her mind's permission. Her cheeks were still hot, that was the first thing her mind reminded her of when it seemed to get back in order. They were warm, just like his skin had been that morning. Her waist seemed to burn from when his arm was draped over it then as well. Her forehead against his chest, her lips almost- _No_. "Please, _please_ stay out of my head."

His brow crinkled. "I'm not-"

"Yes you are!" Seeing his eyes widen, feeling his grip loosen she took the chance to move her head back away from his fingers. "Just stay out," she muttered, raising her hands to rub at her forehead with the heel. " _Please_." Merlin, she should've made them take her to Azkaban. It had to be better than her current situation. It had to be better then betraying her friends like this. Then thinking about that damn ritual right now of all things.

Her hands were pulled down, fingers wrapped around her wrists she suspected to keep her from moving them back up. All she wanted was to cover he eyes, get him out of her head. Why couldn't he let her do just that? The fact that his touch was gentle wasn't helping in the least. "Hermione, what's bothering you?"

She squeezed her eyes shut, the one thing she felt she could do at this point to keep him out. "I..." How was she suppose to tell him? She didn't even want to think about it in the first place. Just get it - him - out of her head, permanently.

The cauldron.

Hermione opened her eyes slowly, looking down at the threads when she spoke, "Can you," she took in a shaky breath, "Can you mix a Potionem Repulsione?"


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Random background note, Lunar Embrace and Dare take place in the same universe.
> 
> Sorry for the wait with this chapter, it just did not want to end. I suppose I'll just tell you all now that I'm working on some Halloween Specials and there will be at least one for this pairing.

The room had gone silent at her words and she held her breath. Previously she could hear his breathing but it seemed to have come to a sudden halt.

She squeezed her eyes shut, unsure if she should have said anything in the first place. Hermione wasn't even sure if the potion she was asking for existed but he must have figured out what she meant. What she wanted the potion to do, to use it for at the very least. If her cheeks had been red before they were blazing now, and she just wanted it to stop. Because surely if he knew of foul potions like the sort he was making before he would know of this one, admittedly less foul. She hoped anyway. If he had the ingredients that is. If that book next to the cauldron held something like that within it.

Her skin prickled at just the memory of the pages and she shook it off quickly, putting her arms behind her body so the goosebumps that broke out on her flesh weren't visible. In the process of doing so she pulled her hands away from his own, too easily she realized a moment later. His grip must have loosened.

She felt herself relax a bit then. At the fact that he wasn't touching her now. It had to mean he was thinking over what she had said and - hopefully - thinking about the potion she wanted so badly right now. That-

They were brushing her chin suddenly and she stilled instantly. His fingertips were ghosting down her neck, moving over the heated skin until his whole hand was lying across the back...

"No." Her eyes flew open and she leaned back away from him, heart beating fast in her chest at the realization he was so close to her. She could feel his warm breath on her cheek. " _No_ ," she repeated to try and keep him at bay, from moving any closer than he already was.

How he had even managed to get so close without her noticing was beyond her. She should have felt the couch shift beneath her, should have noticed him somehow. It was tempting to close her eyes and rub at her forehead once again but she stopped herself. She needed to keep her head clear so he couldn't do that again. Her shoulders tensed in the next second. His hand was still there, fingers moving up to curl into her hair, drawing her forward.

She moved her hands quickly to press against his chest. "Stop."

Her heart slowed when he didn't move any further. "Don't you want to?" The air seemed to burn her with each word he spoke.

Hermione forced her mouth to move, swallowing to try and get rid of the dryness in her throat, though it didn't help in the least. "Can you mix it?" Does it even exist? That's what she really wanted to ask but she kept her lips closed.

She met his gaze, no longer trying to avoid it. This was something she needed answered, something he should have already answered. It wasn't a complicated question either and yet he still hadn't said anything. He was just watching her, like she was watching him now but... it felt different. Like he was searching for something and she wasn't sure what it could be. Or why whatever it was would be located in her eyes. "Yes."

A sense of relief rushed over her. It did exist. Then why was he still sitting there? Not moving an inch, still staring at her. It was starting to unnerve her. "Will you-"

"No."

Her mouth opened and closed soundlessly. _What?_ "But-" There was just a slight incline of his head. Still, she recognized that motion from before. He had no intention of mixing it.

Hermione pushed herself up quickly, tearing herself out of his grip and off the couch, to make her way down the hall in a rush.

**/ / /**

Ron yawned for what must have been the twelfth time after getting up only an hour ago.

Ginny stared wordlessly at her brother before turning away, no longer seeing the need to comment on it. At this point it was starting to get bloody annoying. He had slept in until ten o'clock and was yawning as if tired before it was even afternoon. Honestly, how much sleep did he need?

The door to the Commons swung open and Ginny turned to see McGonagall walk into the room, robes creating a small draft of wind when she walked. Judging the slow pace it wasn't anything she needed to concern herself with though so she turned back to her parchment on the table, quill tapping at the corner of the page as she tried to figure out how to best word the next paragraph for her essay in Potions. With a sigh she tried looking over what she had written out already, hoping it would make something in her mind click so she could have this over and done with. Potion essays really were the worst homework assignment to start her day off with.

_It is by the Ministry standards that any and all potions that involve the use of wizard blood is prohibited. Those that contain animals are seen as acceptable._

_For instance, re'em blood, when drunk, gives the drinker immense strength for a short time. This is a highly desired substance but even though it is cleared to be sold by the Ministry it is hard to find on an open market because of how difficult it is to obtain and is more likely to be_ _acquired_ _on the black market. This is just one example of many creatures the Ministry has allowed the use of. It should also be noted that the re'em is thought to be a distant cousin of the unicorn who's blood is prohibited from being used in potions because of the curse it lays upon the drinker. This has caused a few people to not touch re'em blood in fear it will poison them eventually like the unicorn does for drinking it's blood. This effect has been proven to only be prominent in unicorns though and the fear of this happening is nothing more than a superstition made by those that wish to_ _acquire_ _this creature's blood to keep other wizards from going near it._

_As such, it should be made clear that any creatures the Ministry does not have under protection to stop_ _extinction,_ _is classified as a beast by the Ministry of Magic (a creature without the sufficient intelligence to understand the laws of the magical community, nor bear part of the responsibility in shaping those laws), and/or forbidden to have any parts sold for health reasons, can have their blood used in potions. Those creatures classified as being (with sufficient intelligence to understand and shape the laws) are forbidden to be used in potions in this manner._

_Potions that require the blood of a creature classified as being is classified as a form of dark magic defined by the Ministry. More accurately it is a_ _sub-category_ _of dark magic known as blood magic..._

Her quill tapped relentlessly at the end, almost going through the parchment. The only good thing Ginny could think of right then was that she wasn't working on her Defense Against the Dark Arts essay and could continue not working on it until this was finished. She would rather not work on something Snape had assigned, especially since he had asked for two rolls of parchment on the subject of inferi.

No one in their right mind would choose to do that essay over the one Slughorn had assigned her this weekend. This one didn't even have to be one full roll of parchment. He had said it would be nice if it was, but it wasn't a requirement.

She was close to groaning out loud as if in physical pain when a pair of footsteps approached her corner of the room, a voice following ahead, "Weasley, do you know where Hermione is right now? Her and Potter's detention was suppose to have started ten minutes ago."

"Haven't seen her all morning." Ron answered McGonagall first, which was an accomplishment seeing as he was yawning yet again. It was a wonder he wasn't snoring on his table. When she looked closer it even appeared as if he had actually managed to write something while she had been staring at her own paper.

Ginny saw McGonagall turn to her from the corner of her eyes and quickly responded, "I haven't seen her either, but Lavender was complaining earlier that Hermione's clock had gone off earlier this morning. She might have gotten up to start on her studies and still be at the library." It was the only logical location she could think of her friend to be at. Especially since it was a weekend and that's where she usually was before this mess with the law had started up. Before she was off with Blaise to who-knows-where every weekend since.

McGonagall frowned slightly at this news but it was only there for a few seconds so Ginny was even sure she had seen it before the professor was speaking again, "If she does come back here please remind her of her detention in my classroom." McGonagall walked away then, most likely going to the library to find Hermione herself, though she didn't look to be in any hurry. Well, the detentions were unfair, maybe she was finally realizing that and becoming more lenient on the matter. Maybe she wasn't going to punish her students just to make a point concerning Snape and his own methods of detention.

**/ / /**

Hermione was flipping through the book on his desk next to the now cold cauldron, the seal still on top and she wasn't about to remove it. She still needed to locate the potion first, find the ingredients and prepare them before she did anything with the cauldron anyway. Which was likely to reek if she did remove the lid. It hadn't escaped her that he had gloves on earlier when working with it either. Which made her grab the book and move it to the edge of the desk before opening it again, seeing the title in messy scrawl on the leather when she did so, _Lagata Macul_. It looked and sounded latin in origin when she said it in her head but she couldn't think of any words with that exact lettering from the language. Perhaps they were some words she just hadn't seen yet.

She didn't let her mind linger too long on that though, instead going to the back of the book, looking through the index. Most of which she didn't understand when she found the index as it was printed in a different language. Luckily there were words scrawled all around the page in other various languages, one of the most prominent being english. Whoever had translated it had done each entry and there were symbols separating each language the entries had been translated to for ease of finding what one was looking for. From the looks of the script the same person that had translated the english had also done two of the other languages that she didn't recognize.

Her gaze skipped quickly over the text until settling on an entry whose translation replicated what she had asked for back in the living room. Zel'ye iz Ottalkivaniye

So it did exist. With a smile she slid her finger along the page to the number the potion resided on, flipping to it soon after. She let out a sigh of relief when she recognized the text below the unfamiliar language the title was in as latin. That was something she could read.

_Zel'ye iz Ottalkivaniye,_

_What isn't well known about this potion is when it was first invented by a witch it was not named. Which is why many people who locate it in the Russian books believe it to have originated in that country when really there was no name for it until around 889 leaving the actual origins of the potion unknow-czk_

She gasped out loud from the sudden ringing in her head. Even when she raised her hands to cover her ears it persisted. Hissing loudly to snarl in the next second, the sound deepening each time. Then the screeching began, filling her ears, _kti-zulik-caa-hireeeh._ It all seem to mash together. Into something she couldn't understand. Not that she could even begin to as it got louder.

Hermione leaned against the desk, fingers pressed firmly to the page, wondering when her eyes had closed. She must have done it herself when it had started. When her mind had started to- "Vra." The weird, inhuman sound sound escaped her lips as nails on a wood board resounded in her head. That painful sound filled her head af it was scratching at her skull, slicing straight through skin to beat on the bone. To be let in.

The hissing, snarling, it all continued even as her head felt like it was ready to split and she forced herself to open her eyes. To look down at the page and skip further to the list below everything else. That was the first thing she needed and fighting to keep her eyes open and focus on the words she translated the latin on the page.

_\- one sliced aconite petal_

_\- one unsucculated leech_

_\- a frozen ashwinder egg_

_\- three fruit of the lovage_

_\- blood of the afflicted_

Huh? She tore her gaze from the list, back up until she found the phrase again in the script.

_Not to get confused with the drinker (as is common and with_ _disastrous_ _results), the afflicted - as was named back before this potion was ever written - is the 'person of interest' and whose blood will be needed for the potion to work. U_ _nfortunately_ _, the blood is not the last ingredient making it impossible to prepare this beforehand as the potion will go sour within ten minutes of its_ _completion_ _._

_It should be stated now that one should not make this potion lightly as the effects are near_ _irreversible_ _and to break it would be_ _excruciating_ _for the drinker (ever seen a ferret or other strapped to a man's chest in a burning metal box? it's like that, but instead of just the chest being ripped open upon the creature's escape it's the whole body,_ _mentally_ _anyway)._

_With regards to the drinker, the zel'ye, has never been inspected by a Ministry of Magic to this known date (1996) and therefore is neither legal or illegal. As this is not the case with most entries within here it would be appreciated if you kept it this way and tell no one of it if you choose to use this (in regards to the drinker, the afflicted, and 'others of interest')._

'Others of interest?' She tried to move her gaze up again, to what had to be the history of the potion, but quickly bent her head down when the screeching got too loud. It would seem it had stopped clawing and was instead hammering away at her skull, chipping the bone with each blow and she let out a hiss when her skin stung around her right ear. As if it was drilling into the side of her head.

With a small cry she leant forward to press her head against the page, screwing her eyes closed before forcing them back open to find a paragraph just barely within her limited range of vision.

_The effects of the Zel'ye iz Ottalkivaniye are as stated; the drinker shall not be able to be in the same room as the afflicted without consequence, any bodily contact will be recoiled from, any fluid contact will burn, any marrow contact will_ _freeze_ _. As such the afflicted should be removed before the latter effects sink in. Including; vicious phantasmagoria, residence languish, and nausea._

She was still staring at the words when cold wrapped around her wrists and she felt herself lifted up, no longer doubled over, no longer touching the book. "-ione?" Her eyelids flickered, still seeing the script from the book when she blinked; running along the door, walls, stone and wood. Was it following her?

Her skin burned and when she blinked again she saw the ceiling of her room above her. There was a clink to her left, as if something had been set down and she turned her head to see a glass of water and a plate of food sitting next to it. She pushed herself up so she was leaning against the headboard and reached out to grip the cool glass, feeling it warm underneath her trembling fingers.

"Hermione." His cool fingers wrapped around hers, steadying the glass, helping her move it to her lips so she could gulp it down. She flinched when the ice cold water ran down her throat and moved her head away a couple seconds later when he removed the glass from her lips.

She gasped, sucking in breaths of air. Her gaze moved over the room, searching for any floating letters and finding none she let out a sigh of relief. The bed shifted and her gaze darted to Barty, who was sitting on the edge watching her. She took in a deep breath, still feeling the way her body had broken out into a cold sweat when she was reading the Lagata Macul. The way it screeched and clawed for entry into her mind. "That book is cursed," she stated, waiting for him to deny it. For having that _thing_ in here.

He didn't turn from her gaze though. "It's full of dark magic. You read about that potion, didn't you?" The way he stated it so matter of factly... It was obvious he knew it was cursed, and yet, he hadn't been there before she had begun reading. Before she had found the potion. He had wanted her to read what it did for herself then.

She could understand that notion. Hermione almost couldn't believe there was something so... so... "Vile." She stared at him for a moment, at his unwavering form. "That thing tried to get inside of me. Did you know that would happen?"

He didn't even blink at her question. "Yes."

She sucked in a breath, heart hammering away in her chest. "And you didn't think to tell me any of that?" Her blood was staring to warm beneath her skin.

"It takes a long time for it to actually get inside the mind of anything magical. You weren't in any immediate danger. Do you think I would let you have run off like that if that were the case?"

She glanced away from him to the plate on her nightstand. "No." There was no doubt in her mind that if he had wanted to stop her - or needed to - he would have done so. But that still didn't calm her mind completely. She couldn't feel it in her mind any longer trying to get in but she remembered it perfectly. That feeling was one that was going to stay with her forever. "Is it gone then?"

Hermione glanced back to Barty when he didn't answer her right away. He seemed to be considering her words, what they meant, as if there was a question beneath them. "Yes." A wave of relief crashed over her. She never wanted it near her again, clawing the way it had. "It gave you a temporary fever cause of how much contact you were in with it but nothing serious. You're fine now."

"Fine?" the word slipped from her mouth and mind at the same time. She could hardly call how she felt as 'fine.' Her head may not hurt any more, she may not hear it anymore, but she was far away from being _fine_ of all things. Hermione took in a deep breath, once. "You asked me before if I trusted you. If you keep pulling things like this how do you expect me to do anything but distrust you?"

Barty's gaze finally turned from her - for a fraction of a second. He was giving her that same curious look as he had before on the couch. Just studying her. "What do you think would have happened if I didn't let you go and see it for yourself?" She tried to open her mouth to answer but he intervened, "You just said it yourself. You don't trust me. If I told you about it, what it does, would you believe me?"

Her mind fought for words, mouth opening and closing as she came up with none. After a moment of staring at him she shook her head. "That's not the point-"

Hermione began to speak when he reached forward to grasp her jaw between his fingers. "It is. Now," His grip on her tightened. "Nod or shake your head when I ask-stop glaring at me like that." She glanced to the wall instead and heard him sigh. "If I tell you more about that manuscript are you going to continue like this?"

More? She blinked. What else could he possibly have to tell her about it? And why? When she tried to open her mouth though his fingers kept it closed with the pressure they were applying. So this was why he was doing this now. So she couldn't interrupt him. With a frown at not being able to question him on why they needed to discuss it further she shook her head. No, she wouldn't 'continue like this.'

"Good." He said that, but his fingers only seemed to tighten further on her jaw. Did he think she would go back on her word? "That cursed book is called the Lagata Macul. It's very old, passed through many hands over the centuries. It's contents have been added to but most of what it contains is from the original author. That potion you looked up is one of their works, it tends to have a sadistic look at the history and spells/potions. Anyway," Barty let out a sigh. "Did you get to read the part about not telling anyone about the potion?"

After a moment she nodded her head. It had stood out considering the book stated that the potion's existence was unknown to this very day by the Ministries of Magic all over the world. No wonder the author asked for it to be kept hidden. She could hardly believe there was a potion out there the Ministry didn't know about.

"Have you given any thought to telling anyone about it?" Hermione looked from the wall to him and blinked. She hadn't even thought about it. "Not just the potion, but the book as well. The book may be known in comparison with that potion but not by name. Promise me you won't try and tell your friends, or the Order about it. Hermione?" he asked when she didn't respond right away.

It seemed ridiculous to her. Why did she have to make such a promise when she already told him she hadn't thought about doing it? That she never would considering the way the idea of such a potion existing made her skin crawl. She didn't even completely understand some of the effects it had. Like the marrow freezing her if she came in contact with it. How did one come in contact with marrow? It was inside the bones for Merlin's sake! The implications of that thought settled in her mind and she quickly shook it away, not wanting to have those disturbing thoughts linger.

She lifted her hand, curling her fingers around his and tugged softly. His fingers fell away, slipping to her arm instead, moving along the skin. "Why? What are you going to do to me if I do?" The last thing she wanted was to go back to that room of his, tucked along the hallway.

"Do to you..." He met her gaze. "I won't do anything to you. Promise me, Hermione."

She bit at the edge of her lip. The last promise she had made to him concerned the Order as well, but instead of telling him about their secrets now he wanted her to promise not to tell his to them? This was ludicrous. Soon enough she wouldn't be able to be around her friends at all at this rate. "No."

The fingers gliding up her arm had stopped at the single word, his eyes trained on her as if that would make the other word come from her mouth. "Hermione-"

"I said no. I won't keep betraying the Order like this." She pulled her arm away from his hand, leaning up against the headboard as she curled both of her arms around her to try and keep out of his reach.

He was silent for a time and she tried to figure out what he was thinking but his face gave nothing away. There was no facial muscle twitch, his eyes were like blank slates. A couple minutes must have passed before he said, "It's not gone, exactly." The words came out slow, as if he had to force them. It took her a moment to register what he had said. To connect it to what he had told her earlier.

Her breath came to a halt. It wasn't gone? That damn cursed book was still inside of her then? He had lied to her. "What the bloody hell do you mean? 'Not gone, exactly.' It's either gone or it isn't, Bartemiu-" There was something in his eyes that made her stop. She took a moment to breathe before continuing more slowly, voice lowered, mindful of the look in his eyes. "You just said it was gone. I asked you and that's what you told me. You keep saying how much honesty matters to you and you just lied to me, Barty. So you try and explain how any of that is suppose to make me trust you."

That look in his eyes was gone and his shoulders had relaxed by the end of her words. It seemed there were three things she couldn't say around him, otherwise he would get like _that_ again... A shiver ran down her spine.

"I didn't lie to you. It's still in the room. What it tried to do before isn't something it can do again unless you go and read it. The book can't go into your mind like that or try to." It was quiet for a moment as he looked to be thinking over his next words. "It left an impression on you-No." he sighed. "It's hard to explain. It's like a... an aura. Anyone who looks inside the book and reads one word no matter how insignificant it is it will leave this aura on you. Like you said before, it's cursed. The 'aura' is a part of that. It's not really dangerous, doesn't change anything about you but it does enforce what the book asks you not to do."

She took a minute to process what he was saying. "Okay, then." Hermione took in a breath. That was... good to know she supposed. If only she had known before going to the book though, and then she wouldn't have to be sitting here asking him this, "How does it enforce it?"

"The book told you not to talk about the potion inside of it, and unless you're talking to someone else that has read it, like me. It won't care because it will sense I have that aura as well. So the only people you can talk to about it would be others that have had the book before. In time you will able to sense it in others." His eyes finally fell away from her, his tone going bitter. "If you were to talk about it to anyone else though... you wouldn't be able to. It mentions it in the back of the Lagata Macul as a warning, of course the moment you read something from there even it will enforce the tenet. If you try to speak to the Order about that specific potion lacerations will appear in the mouth. The more you try to tell them the more cuts you'll receive. The idea is that eventually you will choke on your own blood. That's how the book keeps it's secrets safe. One of the ways I should say." His gaze met hers again. "Do you understand now? You can't tell them Hermione."

Her body had gone still. Even so she managed to nod her head in the affirmative. "I promise I won't." She was silent for a moment, aware of the sigh he released when she told him she understood. "How did you... acquire something like that?"

"I didn't. Not in the sense of what you're asking. The book found me." He ran a hand through his hair. "Back in Hogwarts I regularly broke into the Restricted Section of the Library and first came across it that way. The book was sitting on the shelf but it wasn't in the catalog so I took it. It didn't claw into my mind, but I had already been casting dark magic before I found it. When I showed it to a friend it tried what it did to you. That was in sixth year and I threw it away then. This is the second time I've seen the book itself. There's copies of some of the spells and potions written down, just scattered around the world from previous owners that I recognized from the book."

"How does it find someone? How did you come across it again?" She felt she needed to know. This book was obviously dangerous, especially if it went about 'finding' witches and wizards.

He was silent for a moment. "Much like it found me again I suspect." Barty chuckled. "It was right outside the door of this house. A wolf was sitting on the mat with the book between it's teeth." He laughed softly and from the look in his eyes he was picturing the scene again in his mind. "When I opened the door it was wagging it's tail at me. When I took the book though it ran away like all the hounds of hell were after it."

"It... controlled the wolf?" The mere idea reminded her of Riddle's Diary. It had been cursed as well, and it had taken control of Ginny.

"Yeah. It's not a magical creature and has no way to defend itself against the books' magic. It may have gotten into the library by owl before. That's one of the ways it gets around and finds people. The book likes to be used, it wants to be read and the magic inside of it to be cast. It has a mind of it's own."

"Why did it find you?"

He blinked at her before shrugging. "It wants me to use it I guess. The Death Eaters asked for a potion just last week that was contained in it's pages. One of them probably heard about it from a herbologist. Then this week the manuscript is on the doorstep. If I were to guess it sensed that the potion I needed was in it's pages through the aura and came because I don't have a note with a copy of the potion."

"What about the previous owner?" Was a dark wizard or witch going to appear at the door next demanding to have the book back?

Barty didn't look concerned about that question in the least. Instead he just laughed. "Probably wondering where the hell it went. The Lagata Macul isn't exactly a book you can own. Whoever the previous owner was has just learned that lesson."

She stared at him for a moment. His posture was relaxed, a warm glint in his eyes, and he kept answering her questions for once. He hadn't deflected a single one. She couldn't think of a way she could come across a more perfect moment to get some of her more serious questions answered.

Hermione lowered her arms, crawling across the bedspread to his side, resting her cheek against his shoulder, reaching out to press her fingers on top of his own hand. He was always touching her himself. She hoped this would calm him even more, keep him how he was now as she began to speak, "There's something else that's been bothering me since this morning."

"Hmm?"

The questioning sound might as well have been a hum, a linger of his laugh from before still evident in it. His hand turned over beneath hers, wrapping fingers around her own and she gave his fingers a light squeeze. "When I asked you before about last Monday you weren't thinking about what I was were you?" If anything he had been surprised by her question then. Like... "You were expecting something else weren't you?"

Even now his fingers stilled beneath her for a moment and she hurriedly clasped her other hand around it. His gaze dropped to the two hands around his, looking almost... puzzled. "I was."

"What were you expecting?" she asked.

"A lot more anger from you, for one."

Hermione blinked. "Why?" Her hands went still around his.

"Why?" He seemed to consider the question as his thumb ran along the palm of her right hand. "You haven't given it any thought then. What I did?"

She remained silent, letting that be her answer. Last Monday was something she kept mostly out of her mind, the detention, her fight with him, what she did before falling asleep in his room... that was something she worked hard to keep out of her mind. The fact that it was only Saturday and they hadn't... done anything yet was another she kept pressed in the corners of her mind. All the things she didn't want to think about were shoved in the back there. Everything concerning the Ministry and their laws as well.

Barty sighed and she could feel him pulling his hand away from her own. She reached out for him again but her hand fell short on his knee, not daring to go any further. Her cheeks warmed and she looked away quickly, removing her hands completely so they pressed into the blanket beside her instead, the skin prickling at the memory from last weekend.

"I'm sorry." Her head shot up from his shoulder to stare at him, not quite believing the two small words that had just come out of his mouth. "I shouldn't have... I should have stopped when you asked me to. When you... you said no. You just-"

He stopped so abruptly in his explanation that it startled her, even though she was unsure of what he was talking about. "Just what?" she asked, while looking back to Monday to try and find what he was speaking of. She could think of a millions things he shouldn't have done then but he was trying to be specific about it. Some single moment. "Barty?" she pressed.

His gaze met hers for a moment before moving swiftly away. "You were whimpering, making little noises. Lovely little noises..." There was a soft sigh and she felt a cold chill run down her back. "Not looking at me, nothing at all really. I could tell you weren't actually focusing on the wall like you pretended. Then you closed your eyes..." She looked away, ears burning. He could _not_ be talking about that time right now. "There were little streams running down your body, sweat. Like rain drops glistening on your skin. Back arched, head tilted back, neck exposed, nipples hard, just making those little noises." Her whole face went red. "Your body wanted it. So I..."

The weight on the bed next to her suddenly vanished. " _Fuck_." The word stung her ears. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I shouldn't have forced that on you. Not like that. Fuck." The sound of the door slamming behind him floated back to her as she stared forward at her own shell-shocked expression in the vanity mirror.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, it's been awhile. This chapter didn't want to start.
> 
> Here's some news you probably didn't know about though. There's a fanart for Barty and Hermione on my profile (ff one, or use the link in my profile here to go directly to my deviantart), granted it has nothing to do with any story to date, but it's still pretty to look at. I also have this same pair featured in a crossover with final fantasy x for anyone that's interested. Fayth, pyreflies, al bhed talk, fucked up cloister of trials, general fun. Have a look.

Her body felt like it was made of stone. Had he really just...

She could feel the tips of her ears go red, reflecting the skin tone her face had taken. He had. The way he had spoken about it, the details, _her_. It had been obvious in his tone that he had enjoyed it, but then, there was that look on his face. One of guilt, even shame.

But that couldn't be right, could it? After all, he must have enjoyed each time, this was just the first time she had that fact thrown at her. That he was possibly just using her, the law of the Ministry as an excuse to do whatever he wanted to her. It didn't matter that she had thought about it before, it was _this_.

This certainty she hadn't had before. One she kept fighting down. The way he touched her all the time had to be because he enjoyed those moments on the weekends when they were close, physically speaking that is. Because he enjoyed her body, not her. Why when she was here his hands always seemed to be on her, constantly touching her when he could. He just wanted to use her more often than the law required. That was all.

Her throat seemed to close on her, she could feel a warmth start in her eyes and quickly blinked, curling her hands into fists to stop her body from instinctively shedding the tears.

No. She shook her head firmly. It still didn't make sense; why he had looked like that, was out of the room the moment after telling her. Hermione choked back a sob, keeping it in a cage in her lungs. She wasn't going to let it out until she knew for certain.

Her legs slid from the bed, stumbling forward the moment her feet touched the ground. She reached out quickly, using the vanity to steady herself before making her way into the hall.

She stopped just outside, her feet now firm beneath her. There was no need to look left, she already knew he had to have gone back to his room and walked slowly down the hall, her mind still spinning. Hopefully when she asked he answered her question. She wasn't sure what would happen if he refused in his normal manner. By acting like she hadn't said a thing, that he hadn't heard her.

Hermione didn't bother knocking, she reached for the knob and turned it, pushing the door open so it swayed gently into the room. He was there, directly in her line of vision.

Just sitting on the edge of the bed, hands curled in the blanket beneath, the veins on his arms stuck out. He was tense. She wasn't sure if he had been like that before or if his posture had changed when he saw her standing there in his doorway. But his gaze had flickered to her, then it was focused on the line of skulls along the dresser and his jaw seemed to clench.

She took a step inside, watching him as she walked over but he didn't move again. Just continued staring forward even when she sat on the edge of the bed next to him. "Barty?" she murmured, glancing at him.

He moved then. Fast, a blur in front of her that was soon above her as she found her back pressed to the bed. His legs on either side of her, a hand pressed against her abdomen, fingers locked around her throat. "You manipulative bitch."

Her eyes widened, mouth opening, trying to get at the air but she couldn't get a single gulp in. She could feel her heart begin pounding in her chest at seeing the look in his eyes. It was like that one day. The one when... She remembered his teeth ripping into her skin and began shaking her head quickly. Not again. This could not be happening again.

The hand on her stomach was soon gone, gripping her jaw. "You think you can just bend me to your will, don't you? Tell me, do you like playing with me, little witch? Like a little puppy." Somehow his grip on her neck tightened and she let loose a strangled sound in her desperation for air, to drag oxygen into her lungs and tell him no. To beg if she had to. "You think you can throw a bone my way every once and awhile so I can be under your thumb all the time. Just jump up into your lap and do whatever you please. Well, little witch, I refuse to play that game with you."

He shifted above her, hand dropping her jaw and she began shaking her head again. It was her only way to answer him and these accusations. No. His fingers had grabbed her left wrist, raising it above her head that she shook fiercely to try and get his attention. No, no, no! He left her hand above her, lying on the bed.

"You like games?" No. "Stop that!" His hand was on her jaw again, keeping her head from moving. "Hold up one finger for yes, two for no, and answer the question, bint." She raised two slowly, unable to look away from him as his eyes flickered up to check her response before settling back on her. "That's too bad."

His hand let go of her again, slowly this time, his eyes watching her as he drew it away. She had to force herself from moving as she stared up at him, trying to keep his hand in her vision but she couldn't follow it when it went behind his back. Her heart beat increased when she could see his fingers again, curled around his wand.

She forced a noise past her throat, a gurgle of sorts as the wand tip rested on her cheek. "Do you not want to play?" She kept her two fingers up, chest rising and falling faster with each second. "Hmm." She could feel the tip run across her cheek, past her ear into her hair, to make a soft thud when it hit the bed, tumbling down past his fingers.

Relief washed through her and then her head was thrown to the right; her jaw, left cheek, just the edge of her nose feeling like it was on fire. The skin was throbbing, a dull pain starting to spread where he had struck her with his fist.

"That's not very considerate of you," he was hissing the words into her ear and she felt a shiver run through her body. Get away, have to get away. His gaze flickered to her and she felt her head reeling again, mouth open and gaping. "Do you think I can't tell what you're thinking? You don't have a very good poker face right now-"

There was a rushing sound in her ears, like a waterfall, like when the tv turned to static at night in her parent's house. Her fingers at her side twitched when even that was becoming dull. She needed her wand. It was just in her room but her vision was swimming black. Her whole mind was a dark ocean, not a letter forming in the waves.

It all came rushing back at her in a matter of seconds. The fingers no longer on her neck, instead sliding up her cheek, past her right eye to curl into her hair and _tug_. She wanted to cry out, but instead she found herself sucking down air like an animal. "Don't ignore me," his words came out in a growl and a whimper slipped past her lips. "Little witc-"

"Hermione," she corrected now that she could speak, had air in her lungs again. "And I'm not. I'm not-" Her mouth stayed open, no longer making any sound when he hit her in the diaphragm, her body curling in on itself as much as it could with him above her.

"Is that what you would have me believe?" he asked while she gulped at the air much like a fish. "That you're not going to whisper your thoughts to me next? Do I look like a bloody idiot? You'll have to try harder than that. Or maybe I should just beat you to the punch line?" Her whole body jerked when she felt his hand slip up under her shirt, fingers gliding over the underside of her cotton covered breast. "Make you put on a show for me, _puppet_."

Her heart thundered louder in her chest than when his fingers had been clasped along her throat. Puppet. No, he couldn't mean it. He had told her he wouldn't. That he would _never_ use that spell on her. She pulled her trapped hand from between her body and his leg to cling to his robe. "Barty, _please_. You promised me you wouldn't. You can't," she choked on a sob, feeling tears sting along her cheeks. "You said you would never use the imperius on me. You said you weren't your father." His body moved upward, her arm stretched from the distance between them. "Barty-"

"Hermione." Her arm went slack, his fingers curling around hers, removing them from his robe. "I'm sorry." She blinked up at him, trying to get the tears out of her vision that made it look like she was peering through water and fog at the same time. "So sorry." Something soft was being pressed to her fingers. She blinked again to see he had raised her hand to his lips, that he was pressing kisses along each finger, each knuckle, until he had covered every inch of skin on her hand.

He raised her hand further up, so her open palm was resting against his cheek. His eyes closed just a second after, his hand keeping hers in place. She stared up at him, heart beating fast in her ears. This had to be a trick. A cruel trick. He was about to hit her again, likely with her own hand. As part of the game he had never specified on. "Barty?" she couldn't help the way her voice came out in more of a whisper. Her jaw hurt. She was sure there were bruises developing all over her face and around her neck. She just couldn't raise her voice the way she wanted to. To shout at him and tear her hand from his grip and run out of the room.

His eyes slid open, glimmering in the candle light. "I hurt you," his voice was strained as he gazed down at her. Barty's hand lifted from hers and she felt it fall to her chest as she watched a corner of liquid at his eye trail downward, past his jaw to fall through the air and hit the fabric of her shirt, creating a dark splotch. Her eyes widened as he leaned down, more tears running down his face as she felt his lips on her throat. "I'm sorry," was whispered against the nape of her neck again and again as she felt the pain dull, till it never existed. His hands were cupping her face, kissing a path along her cheekbone. "I won't let it happen again. I swear."

Her lips parted slowly, tasting salt from her tears, but mostly from his. "It won't?" her voice was wavering. She had to be dreaming or... something. The thought kept slipping through her mind with each kiss he placed on her cheek. With each teardrop hitting her forehead. This couldn't be real. He...

"Never." He laid a kiss just beneath her eye that slid closed a moment later. "Forgive me. _Please_." She felt her breath vanish from her lungs. The desperation laced into that one word... one she had never heard him say before, except when mocking her. Her hands moved slowly, crawling up his sides to wrap around him. They stayed even when he turned on his side, to continue sobbing into her hair throughout the night.

**/ / /**

The sun was slowly dipping beneath the waves, turning the water into halo-tipped flames that made the sky glow in their vicious battle to stay raging on the ocean. To continue to light the sky with bright orange flares until the clouds became pink and the flames turned to blood as the sun died beneath them.

"It was beautiful." Daphne's breath tickled his ear when she leaned over from her own beach chair. If he didn't know better he would have thought she had gotten up from the chair to lay on his own, if his had been larger that is. Really she had just dragged her own so close that the arm rests were side-by-side. So her head was resting on his shoulder as the darkened above them, the temperature starting it's slow drop. It was a good idea to come here before the winter season set it. "Blaise?"

"Huh?" He had to shake himself from his thoughts before taking a moment to remember what she had said. "Oh, yes, beautiful sunset." He turned his head to glance over at her. Dark brown hair starting to turn black in the night, black bikini top covering her breasts, a white flower between them. The black bottoms had a white floral print running along the left side of the front, it was kept on by a pair of black strings on each side, tied tight into little bows. One tug would-

"What are you thinking about?"

Her question made his gaze snap back up, brown eyes meeting her green. "You."

Her head was thrown back as she laughed, stopping around ten seconds later to look back at him with her lips quirked up. She may have stopped laughing out loud, but she was surely still laughing internally. "Me? My tits you mean."

"Have you ever thought of thinking before you speak?" he asked, shifting on his side. "What makes you think I'm thinking about your tits? I could be thinking about anything as long as it comes back to _you_. Like, say, your tiny waist, flat stomach, adorable little bellybutton." As the last word slipped out of his mouth his hands reached forward quickly to dance across her tummy that was soon shaking as she was laughing again.

"Stop!" her scream came out in more of a squeak as she tried to bat his hands away with her own, but he kept evading them with a wide grin on his face. "No more! I'll get a stomach cramp!" He just moved his fingers up past her bikini to her armpit. "Cheater!"

She continued laughing as he tickled her, kicking off from the chair in her attempt to get away and he soon followed her onto the sand. Grains of sand flew into the air as Daphne rolled around, calling for help in, 'getting this pervert to stop molesting my no tickling rights.' It just made him start laughing until his own stomach hurt and he rolled away, digging his hands into the sand as he looked to Daphne and tried to stop from laughing again.

She was sitting up now, face red from laughing and yelling in equal measure. Her hands were running through her brown locks, her lips developing into a scowl that was soon directed at him. "You got sand in my hair." He just smiled as she got up and walked back to their chairs, picking up a tan beach towel that she was quick to throw around her shoulders. "I'm going back up to the room. Stay here and play in your sand." she said with a huff and started walking up the beach.

He slid his hands from the sand, noting how cold his skin was now. Blaise got up, throwing his own towel over a shoulder before folding up the chairs and moving them up the beach to the stand where he had gotten them and slid them on top of a pile before heading up some stairs to the hotel on the edge of the beach. He walked to the room the two of them shared, slipping a rusty key into the lock and turning it to open the door.

The sound of running water filled his ears as he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. There were a few choice curses coming from the bathroom as Daphne fought with the grains of sand present in her hair and he chuckled. "Heard that!"

He smiled as he deposited his towel on his bed, taking off his white swim trunks with a red-brown logo of the company it came from, which consisted of a viper. Blaise pulled open a drawer that he had stuck some clothes into and threw on the first ones he saw. He grabbed for the towel afterwards, running it quickly through his hair to get rid of most of the sand before rolling it into a ball and throwing it into the laundry basket across the room.

There were a few grains still in his hair though and he shook his head to get the rest out, combing his hair with his fingers for a moment before he heard a heavy knock on the door. He glanced to the bathroom. "Did you call room service?"

"Why would I do that? We're going out or had you forgotten?" Daphne called back from the shower.

There was a series of sharp knocks on the wood. "I'll get it," he said, walking across the hotel room to throw open the door, mainly to stop the knocks that had gotten even more urgent and loud as he made his way over. "We didn't ask for-Professor?"

"Where is she?" Snape ignored the look of surprise on his face, pushing past Blaise into the room and looking around quickly at the two beds, couch, tv, and balcony. Having not found what he was looking for he turned back to Blaise. "Your match, Blaise. The one that was suppose to be in detention with McGonagall and didn't show up. That no one has seen in the castle since very early in the morning. I thought I told you to just stay at the castle this weekend because of the circumstances. Even if going to the same school already fills the requirements for the time you're to be around each other. What makes you think I wouldn't find this place?" He wanted to say he hadn't attempted to hide where he was going in the first place but Snape was talking too fast for him to get a word in. "I don't expect this type of behavior from my own students. Get your stuff, find your-" The Professor stopped, turning to the opening door of the bathroom. "Miss Greengrass?"

Daphne stood in the doorway, royal purple towel wrapped around her body, another wrapped around the hair piled on top of her head, a few strands falling loose around her face and dripping water onto the tile beneath her feet. "Yes, that would be me. I'm Blaise's match, Professor. I also don't recall having detention with anyone so I really don't understand why you're here bothering us with a detention that isn't even under you own supervision."

Snape must have recovered from the shock of seeing Daphne there as he was now frowning. "When Potter showed up for his detention for today McGonagall let him off the hook, but Hermione didn't." His gaze moved back to Blaise, who was now sure that Snape was in a bad mood because McGonagall had taken her own students off detention in retaliation for his and Draco's own detention that hadn't lasted for more than an hour. "I don't know what game the two of you are playing at, but I want to know where your actual match is, Zabini, _now_."

"Excuse me," Daphne was soon standing at his side, matching the Professor's frown. He wasn't sure right now was the time to be mocking an authority figure though. "I believe I just told you that _I_ am Blaise's match. Hermione agreed to pretend to be his match back at the castle when Blaise got his letter and I didn't want it announced right away. When I decide I'm ready we will stop that charade, but for now, it stays."

Snape's eyes narrowed, flickering between the two of them, stopping on Blaise. "Is that true? The know-it-all is just a convenient cover instead of your match?'

"Yes," he confirmed.

The Professor's frown deepened. "If that is the case then where is, Miss Granger? Hmm?"

Snape was glaring at him with a sort of ferocity that was just asking for him to lie so he could thrown him into detention with Filch. Daphne's fingers wrapped around Blaise's right hand and he glanced to her for a moment wondering what she was doing just before she started speaking, "We don't know, Professor. I would assume she's with her actual match as well right now, likely out and about. It's not like he goes to the school with us considering her match is older, sir. The deal we made was that she covered for me with Blaise and he covered for her own match. I thought it was a pretty fair deal considering things these days. She's one of the few Gryffindors I believe can keep such a secret. Part of our arrangement is not asking questions. She only recently found out I was Blaise's match by chance and we don't know who her own match is. So I would think asking us such a question would be fruitless."

Professor Snape was quiet for a moment, somehow looking more furious than before. "She didn't change her match at the Ministry, did she?"

"No," Blaise answered, as the question was clearly directed at him. "She said no one could change their match, which is exactly what the Daily Prophet said. Besides, the law doesn't allow it."

Snape scowled, glancing around the room once more before turning away with a quick, "Return to school on time Monday or suffer the consequences." The door shut with a bang behind him.

**/ / /**

Her finger trailed over his jaw as she laid there on the bed, staring up at the ceiling after waking up only a few minutes before. His breathing next to her ear was still uneven, rapid, and she wasn't sure if he was awake or not as it had been the same when her eyes had closed last night. At some point he had shifted again, his left arm was wrapped tight around her waist but considering she could breathe just fine she didn't make any attempt to move. The blanket just to the side of her head was still damp and she could only guess he had started crying again in his sleep, if he had gone to sleep in the first place.

His breathing faltered, left hand tightening around the fingers of her own hand that was still raised above her head. "Barty?" she murmured, checking if he was awake or not. His head dipped down, lips skimming her shoulder before she could feel him laying kisses on the skin. So he was awake. She ran her fingers over the edge of his jaw, going down until she reached the duvet and couldn't go any further, trailing her hand back up right below his ear before starting the cycle again. Occasionally he leaned into the touch as he continued to kiss her shoulder, otherwise he hardly moved.

It would seem his attitude hadn't changed from last night like she kept thinking it would. That he would act like none of it had happened. That's what he had basically done the first time. He had also sent her away the first time. Right now he seemed unlikely to let her go in any sense of the word. What would he do after the third time though?

Hermione couldn't stop the shiver that ran through her body. She didn't want to think about a third time. Even though he had said it wouldn't happen again she had to wonder what 'it' was. He had never specified or explained what he had said. 'It' could be anything. All she knew was that it was important that 'it' didn't happen again. If only she knew how to stop it. She wasn't sure if she could endure another round in the coming weeks, months, - bloody hell - years even. Eventually 'it' would kill her.

He had stopped this time though. There was no telling if he would the next time. She wasn't even sure why he had stopped, mainly just grateful. If praying to every god and goddess on earth would stop 'it' she would do it for the rest of her life.

It would be better if she didn't have to. What had it been? What made him stop from beating her to a bloody pulp? From unleashing the imperius curse on her? It had been when she was begging, she knew that much. Begging for him to not use that curse on her, that he had promised he wouldn't use it on her. Had that been it? What else had she said?

Her fingers stopped their trail on his jaw as she thought and she felt him turn slightly, back and forth, as if he were creating the motions himself. It could have been anything she had said at the time... "Barty," she spoke louder this time. "What did your father do to you?"

His teeth dug into her shoulder and she had to resist the urge to flinch. He hadn't broken the surface, it had just been so sudden, feeling his lips part to have his mouth clamp down in the same second. Another second passed before he released the skin between his teeth, licking at the mark on her shoulder. Hermione ran her fingers over his jaw again, trying to coax the answer out of him. She had her own suspicions but she wanted to hear it from him. His tongue dragged against her skin before his chin was resting on her shoulder, warm breath pressing against her neck. "He broke me out of Azkaban."

He fell silent again and she could feel his nose pressing against her neck, nudging closer until his face might as well have been buried in the crook of her neck. "Him and mother." she barely heard his whisper. Barty shifted again, body still molded against her right side. "My mother pretend to be me with the polyjuice potion. He switched the two of us. Put her in the cell and got me out. It was her dying wish apparently. That he broke me out, he wouldn't have done it for any other reason. He left her there to die the same day, for her to be buried with all those murderers and thieves, _scum_." His snarl sent a mini-quake through her collarbone.

"He used an invisibility cloak to cover me and get to the house. Crouch Manor. Once there he told Winky to never mention me to anyone, that she was my caretaker from now on and to not let me out of her sight. When I tried to get away the first night to search for My Lord he put me under the imperius curse and kept it constant for years. I did break through at times, but he would enforce it each time, kept me hidden beneath the invisibility cloak whenever there was anyone over, sometimes even when it was just me, him, and Winky. He hardly looked at me. If Winky hadn't been feeding me and taking care of everything as usual he likely would have forgotten I was even there for a few hours. He probably forgot anyway.

"It was a habit of his. Forgetting anything that didn't have to do with his job at the Ministry every day. On rare occasions he even seemed to forget about mother and she would take me out into the woods around the manor at night, past what he thought to be a decent bedtime when he didn't come home from work." The anger in his tone disappeared completely at this point. "She would show me the flowers and plants in the far greenhouse tucked in the corner of our property, in a grove of trees. Made me promise not to breathe a word to father, that it was our little secret. He never found out. She would show me exotic flowers, tell me their names, properties, how to pick them. She told me my grandfather had showed her the greenhouse when she married father, explained the family business to her. And she explained it to me. She showed me the greenhouse in the dungeons after getting into an argument with father. It was underwater, beautiful, each plant was someone's poison. Something they would pay an extravagant amount of money for. That was the family business. Obtain seeds and grow plants that would otherwise be hard to get, dangerous. Sell them for a pretty penny to the highest buyer.

"She ran the business, and my father was none the wiser that the guests she met with were potential buyers, the exact sort of people he threw into Azkaban. He would have shut it down if he had known, would have gotten rid of his own family tradition. As if the Malfoy's have ever stopped buying their position in the Ministry. The Carrow's are still mixed up in torture, getting people to talk." His arm shifted up her body, resting against her midriff. "Those skulls use to be part of it. Some of them are extinct now, not from my family, from idiots. Others are protected by the Ministry to some extent, and more are just dangerous to hunt.

"Mother killed a mooncalf once. It got into the greenhouse in the woods and ate something from the pots. It was rotting from the inside out and she had to slit it's throat. Father heard it's wailing from the house and only stayed home when mother said he had too much work to do, that she would go see what it was herself. Of course, father always had too much work to do, so it wasn't surprising that he let mother go out herself. I insisted on going with her.

"I think Winky knew about it. The greenhouse, but mother must have told her what she told me. Winky would ask my father to reward me for my 'good' behavior when he had me under the imperius curse. 'Good' behavior was just when I wasn't fighting him and the curse, when I wasn't breaking free and trying to get away, when he had worn me down for the time being. Winky was the one to convince him to bring me to the Quidditch Cup. I used to watch the games at Hogwarts like it was a religious event. He agreed to it, I broke free, sent the Dark Mark into the air, and framed Winky. Father fired her, you know. That house-elf deserved it. After all the years she helped keep me prisoner. Doing whatever father told her. 'Feed him. Wash the linens. Take care of that _thing_.' My father only used a memory charm on Bertha Jorkins so it didn't get out that his son was still alive, to save his own position in the Ministry.

"I would rather have spent those years in Azkaban. Instead of watching him just a year after publicly disowning me try to get in good graces back at the Ministry while hiding a murderer." He grew silent, staring at something she couldn't see. "It's a shame he didn't scream when I killed him. Just stood there all wide-eyed, muttering about needing to tell Dumbledore about me, stop my plans... I could've done better. I could have killed a participant off in those games one-by-one. Those remaining are going to fight against us in the war." Her heart thundered in her chest when he said that. If he had... Fleur and Krum would be dead as well. Not just Cedric. "I should have killed Krum first. So he would never have the chance to touch what's _mine_."

His lips were on her neck again, nibbling at the skin, licking, catching it between his teeth before he started sucking, leaving a mark. Her blood had run cold. "Why didn't you?" she forced the words out.

He snarled, "Father. He wouldn't have liked it. He would have been disappointed. That's all I was to him after that day in front of the Wizengamot, a disappointment. Before that it was nothing, he hardly acknowledged me. Forgot the fact that I got _twelve_ bloody NEWTS. Forget that I was top of the year. That I studied constantly to get there. That I only ever saw my friend at Quidditch matches to stay there. Mother was beyond ecstatic but he didn't care. He only cared about work. Mother would get me everything I ever wanted and he only ever gave a distracted, 'good work' while sipping his morning coffee."

Her knuckles and fingers had to be purple from the way he was gripping her hand, squeezing the bones together the way he was. "Barty, my hand." His fingers might as well have been stuck by lightning with how fast they were off, barely touching the skin a second later and she could feel the throbbing in her hand dull. The pain had reminded her too much of last night though. "What is 'it?'"

"'It?'" At first he seemed confused then he muttered an, " _Oh_. 'It' is... what I don't remember."

Her gaze flickered to the side, but she couldn't really see him, just his shoulder, everything but his face that remained too close for her to get a glimpse at unless she turned her head. "What do you mean?"

He pushed away from her and she sat up, looking at him, needing to know. So 'it' hopefully wouldn't happen again. Barty glanced at her, then he was leaning down, head resting in her lap as he laid back on the bed, horizontal to her own body. His eyes closed and she wondered for a moment if he had gone back to sleep. "That Sunday, when you came to my room, asking about what I did, what spell I used. You were yelling that I had molested you, that I was playing games, that you almost kissed me. You accused me of making you betray your friends... I suppose in a way I did, but I didn't use magic. There was no need when you told me everything I asked about. I... kissed you and you accused me of using the imperius on you and then... you were bleeding. A wound on your neck like a rabid animal had gotten into the house and attempted to rip it out. Your clothes in shreds on the floor, rivers of blood on your arms, legs, inner thigh. There was even blood on your ear, running down the side of your head, and you were calling my name, my mouth was on your neck..." He raised his hand fingers tracing the spot she remembered his teeth sinking into.

"You don't remember doing it?" He shook his head.

His eyes opened slowly, hand cupping the side of her face. "I thought I had been stunned until I tasted the blood in my mouth. I tried to tell you I was sorry, but... I didn't do anything else, did I?"

Hermione blinked, unable to tear her gaze away from him. "No." She raised her hand, keeping his palm pressed against her cheek as she took in a shuddering breath, aware that she was lying. That she promised she wouldn't, but surely this wouldn't count? It was better if he didn't know what he had done, suggested to her, threatened. "No, you didn't do anything else."

He smiled at her, thumb brushing under her eye, catching the tear that fell. "My sweet angel."

The tears quickly ran down her face as she couldn't hold them back. Her hoarse cry filled the room as she doubled over, hands dropping to cradle his head as she kissed him feverishly.

As his hands moved to her shoulders, running down her arms, to her waist, pulling the dark cloth of her shirt up and over her head when she raised her arms before lowering them once again, dropping to the bed and pushing him down onto the comforter. Her own hands pulling and tugging at his robe until it was open and lying on the bed beneath him. She was tearing away his shirt, trying to reach him beneath it, pulling until that was open as well and her mouth landed on his chest, kissing frantically at the skin, following the ghost of a scar on his stomach.

She heard the pop from her bra when he undid the clasp too swiftly, felt the cotton strings slide down her arms to lay forgotten on the bed a second later. Hermione gasped when his mouth encircled her nipple when she moved up initially to capture his lips. Her head was tilted back, a hand entangled in his hair as he laved at her chest until her nipple was hard, and then he was moving onto the next one, leaving her skin burning.

Her hands lowered, tugging the zipper down, grabbing onto the waistband and pulling until the trousers and boxers were down to his knees and he was kicking them off. She was running her fingers up his arms, clasping at his shoulders as he tugged at her nipple before releasing the small bud from his mouth and trailing a path of kisses from her chest to her neck. His hands slipping beneath her waistband and pulling her remaining clothing off in one swift movement, only her knickers left dangling on her right ankle.

With one kick the cotton was off her foot and on the floor, and she was pressing herself down on top of him, lips locking onto his, murmuring breathless when she came up for air, "Need you."

There was a soft hum against her throat then she was flipped on her back and he was on top of her, thrusting into her as she clawed at his back, trying to bring him closer. Her legs raising to wrap around his waist and minimize the distance between them.

Her hips raised to meet him and she gasped, head falling back on the bed, a whimper escaping her when he kissed the hollow of her throat. " _Barty_."

His lips were back on hers, teeth tugging her bottom lip, growling, "Angel." As he dove into her and she clamped down on him a second later, moaning as he filled her. She was kissing at his neck as her body hummed, waves of pleasure crashing over her as he thrust slowly into her, breath hot on her ear.

When he slowed to a stop she pushed up, rolling him onto his back, crawling over to him to rest her head on his chest and let the beat of his heart lull her into sleep.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...

She gazed at him from across the room, her mouth dry, stomach churning when she remembered the feel of his skin on hers. The taste of it against her lips.

It lingered on them even now. Forever imprinted into her memory. The warmth of his body radiating next to hers. That scar on his stomach. It had cut across from the top of his left thigh to just above his waist, a pale line that curved in such a way that it must have come from a spell.

She hadn't thought about it at the time, but now, sitting here, she wondered. What had caused it? _Who_ had caused it for that matter? Had it been someone from the Order? A muggleborn trying to defend themselves from a killing curse? It wasn't recent, she could tell that much. He must have gotten in during the first war. Still, it bothered her.

It kept nagging at the back of her mind whenever her thoughts wandered to that moment when... when they were together.

Hermione didn't want to focus on it. It was just a scar. He had another one as well, but different from what she had seen of it. When he woke up and had caught her looking he had covered it quickly with his shirt, never turning away so she couldn't see the back of it as well. That's what she guessed anyway from the look of the puncture wounds that must have run deep at one point but were now no more than white specks, evenly spaced, about a centimeter in diameter, wrapped in a curve that cut off at the top and side of his left shoulder. There was likely an identical pattern on the other side, from the bottom jaw of whatever creature had caught him in it's grip.

That had to be why her thoughts skipped over it for the most part, not caring that he had attempted to hide it when she did notice it. That one had been caused by some animal, something with fangs, not a wand.

Not by another person that had likely been defending themselves or someone else from him. Just like Remus would have done if Barty's spell hadn't been the one to land first. The image of the werewolf on the floor of the Weasley's home, blood staining the carpet flashed through her mind and she squeezed her eyes shut.

Her throat clenched as she reminded herself that he was out of Saint Mungo's now. That he was better and had recently gone on a mission for the Order, even if he was accompanied by another member unlike the time he was recruiting... She swallowed to try and get the bad taste out of her mouth. Of his warm skin, lips, tongue. How could she have touched him like that after everything? Actually pulling his clothes off herself? Those sounds she had made when he touched her?

_"Need you."_

Her skin warmed at what she had said. The way her voice had almost turned into a whine as she told him to take her.

She leaned down, her forehead hitting the coffee table with a dull thump. What was wrong with her?

"Hermione?" Her head shot up at the sound of his voice. To see him standing there in an unbuttoned shirt, just a few inches of that scar showing, loose pants clinging to his hips, an arm outstretched toward her that held a cup of tea, steam rising from the mug.

She reached out for the glass, both hands slipping around it so it wouldn't fall as she took it from him. Her eyes lowered to look at the orange hue of the drink before she took a sip from the cup, not entirely sure if she could meet his gaze right now. Not when the only thing she could currently think about was how many people he had hurt, killed. And she was here with him now, drinking tea, a pleasant ache in her muscles, too aware of his eyes on her.

There was a sigh to her right. "I'm sorry about the other day. If I said anything to upset you during then I didn't mean it, you know that. You don't need to tell me what it was or even ask, I wouldn't do any of that to you. Not you. Understand?"

"What about everyone else?" The question had slipped out just as she thought it. After that she couldn't seem to stop the downward spiral her mind had taken to. "You've imperiused people before. You did it to Alastor during fourth year and who knows how many people before that, possibly after it." She raised her gaze slowly, keeping the mug close to her, like a shield. "Do you really expect me to believe you didn't do anything to push the Ministry to let you out when you won't even tell me the truth?"

"I can't-"

"And how could you do that to another person after being put through it yourself? You told me what your father did to you with that curse. That he kept you under it for years. You have to know more than anyone else what it feels like to have no control over anything, to just... not have a choice. I'm not saying I could ever understand it myself, but after everything you went through with that curse you would put someone else under it? Because it does matter, you can't just do that. You can't make someone else suffer, no matter if it's for a couple seconds or a year. There's no reason to. It's..." she shook her head, looking back to her tea.

"It's part of my job. That's what a Death Eater does, Hermione. Alastor was a part of that. After getting away from my father and finding Voldemort he requested that I brought Harry to him. Do you really think I would have been able to if Alastor wasn't under the curse? Even if I didn't do it someone else would have to keep him from telling Dumbledore about what was going on. How I wasn't who I said I was."

She could feel his fingers on her cheek, running up along her cheekbone. "Did he also tell you to torture Remus? To kill an entire family?" Hermione asked, unsure if she should be leaning away from his touch or towards it. She couldn't make her body move, she couldn't decide what was best.

"I already told you before. He walked into a meeting location, lurked around afterward, trying to figure out what we were up to. If it was the Order do you think they would just have a member stand around and do nothing to stop a Death Eater from figuring out their secrets?" She didn't miss the fact that he completely avoided her other question.

Why would he comment on it though? That had been her fault. She shouldn't have mentioned it, but it kept gnawing at her mind, not leaving her alone. The fact that he didn't sound the least bit sorry about everything he was telling her about right now... it made the bite worse. "They wouldn't have gone as far as you did. You probably would have killed him if he didn't get away from you, or tortured him like how..." Her mouth closed. Like how you tortured me for information. She didn't say the words, she couldn't. If she did she would be left wondering how she had forgotten all of that when she was the one on top of him.

He must have known what her unspoken words were anyway. "If I had known... I wouldn't have. If I could go back I wouldn't have done that. None of it." The silence between them stretched before he spoke again, "But you can't expect me to not do my duty. I'm one of his faithful, a part of the inner circle-"

"Why?"

"Excuse me?"

Hermione raised her head slowly, trying to ignore the feel of his fingers running through her hair. "Why are you one of his faithful? How could you... What about _me_?" She hated the sob that almost broke through the single word. "My friends, my family. Everyone I care about, they're all against your Lord but you would put him before me? You would torture Remus again." She knew that without a doubt. He hadn't said otherwise, gave no indication that what he did to the werewolf was wrong. "Blood traitors, muggles, everything your Lord hates is someone I love and you don't even care."

His hand dropped from her and she felt a rush of relief run through her. "You can't ask me to do something you won't do yourself, Hermione."

The words twisted inside her, sharp as a knife, faster than any spoken spell. She couldn't sit here any longer like this, not with the heavy air almost choking her. "I have class," she muttered, feeling the need to say something even as she set the still full mug down and got up from the couch.

She moved quickly, never looking his way as she got her black robe, slipped her feet into her shoes before stepping into the fireplace to have the roar of flames surround her. The green glow did nothing to sooth her. It was the color of death, the very thing he was likely to start causing the moment he left the house.

Once the flames died around her she stepped out from the hearth, brushing away the specks of ash on her robe. "Oh!" She raised her gaze to see Ginny sprawled out on the couch looking directly at her, but a second after she had jumped right up and moved forward to take Hermione's hand. "Come on. McGonagall said she needed to talk to you when you got back from wherever with Blaise." Her gut twisted hard as she followed her friend out of the common room. Simply because it never was Blaise. If she had ended up with someone at school this wouldn't have been necessary.

Her footsteps seemed extra loud on the stone when Ginny didn't say another word after starting down the stairs. It was as if she were talking a walk down a long hall to the electric chair. She had to break the silence somehow. "Was she mad?"

She could see Ginny glance at her from the corner of her eye. "Well, when Harry showed up for detention she told him that she had decided that it wasn't necessary. Though when you didn't show up she asked Harry to look for you. Of course Harry looked at the Marauder's Map and didn't see you there. Next we looked in the Room of Requirement. By then we knew you weren't at the school and told McGonagall. She mentioned Blaise was missing as well." Ginny sighed. "When she said that she didn't sound particularly happy and told us that if Harry, Ron, or me saw you when you got back to take you to her classroom so you could... talk."

At Ginny's wince she frowned. That didn't sound good. But it's not like she had a choice and she would make McGonagall see that. All she had to do was... not mention him.

Ginny had stopped at her side and Hermione looked up to see the open classroom door. 'I'll see you at breakfast then," she told her friend. Ginny just nodded before walking back down the hallway.

Hermione took a breath as if the air was filled with liquid courage and walked to the back of the classroom. She pushed the door to McGonagall's office open. "Morning, Professor. You wanted to see me?"

"Close the door behind you and take a seat, Miss Granger." She glanced up quickly to see Snape standing to the side of McGonagall's desk, the woman was currently holding a frown and a distinct air of disappointment around her, lips still sealed shut.

She closed the door softly behind her, not missing the flick of her Head of House's wand. A silencing charm. Hermione walked over to the open chair opposite of hers and sat down, hoping that her stunt didn't somehow get her into a detention that didn't just go away.

The room was quite a few more seconds as she wasn't sure what to say after coming in here. The air in the room didn't help her either. Finally there was a sigh from McGonagall. "I realize the detention I gave you and Harry was unfair but I still expected the both of you to show up and be there for when I planned to tell you that. You however were nowhere to be found. In fact, you weren't even at the school. Your planned detention may have been canceled and whether you knew of that or not you still didn't show up at the scheduled time. You planned to skip the detention all along, Miss Granger. Is that correct?"

From the look on McGonagall's face she wanted Hermione to say no. But she wanted that to be the truth, not a lie. "Yes, Professor."

There was a snort from where Snape stood. "What else did you expect, Minerva? For it all to be some big mix up? That she just happened to 'forget' about her detention?" Hermione's fingers curled into the fabric of her robe at his words.

"That's enough Severus." McGonagall spoke the words to him, but her gaze stayed on Hermione. She was quiet for awhile and the silence had begun to grate on Hermione's nerves before she said anything again. "I know you weren't with Blaise this weekend, Hermione."

She couldn't stop herself from staring at the Professor. "Wha-How?"

McGonagall frowned. "Severus requested that Blaise stay at the school last weekend because of your detention and since the two of you usually spend it together, but instead he went away just like you. At first I thought you were with him, but then Severus spoke to me yesterday. He went to find Blaise and drag the both of you back to school for not doing as either of you were told. Instead he found out that Blaise was with Daphne Greengrass. She told him you had agreed to cover for Blaise's match until she was comfortable with making the announcement herself. While it's very noble of you to have done that, it still means you were missing from the school grounds and that no one knew where you actually were. Furthermore, Blaise mentioned that the match you supposedly changed was never actually changed. Now, from what I understand Blaise was approached by you first and you both agreed to cover for each-other concerning your matches. Right?"

Hermione just nodded her head.

"Now, what I can't understand is why you left the school grounds without telling anyone where you were actually going so we could contact you. It's a requirement for when you leave the school. The only reason I haven't asked before is because Blaise usually provides the location to Severus, and with the assumption that you two were matches it was suspected that the two of you spent that time together. With that not being the case though," McGonagall paused, sighing, a hand placed on her forehead as if to drive away a headache. "I need to know where you disappear to during the weekend."

She felt like her heart was lodged in her throat, making it impossibly for her to speak. "Answer the question, Miss Granger," Snape snapped.

Hermione glanced between the two Professors, her gaze resting back on McGonagall. "I don't know."

"How do you not know?" Professor Snape sounded more like he was hissing around his teeth. "You've been there before, haven't you? Or do you actually go somewhere new each time and it's suppose to be a secret between you and your match so he can surprise you. Either tell us or you won't be going anywhere-"

McGonagall sighed once again. "There's no need for threats, Severus." She turned back to Hermione. "I just want to know for your own safety. That's why we have the rule in place. Even if you just tell me the city that would be enough until you leave again. By then I would like an address though-"

"I don't know where though. Really." Hermione insisted as her fingers started to shake from on top of her robes and she dug them in further to try and make them stay still. "It's not a city. It's in the forest so I don't have an address to give you even if I did know it." She paused, but she didn't really have a choice here. "I get there by portkey. It's the same place every time, at the same exact time. I only use the floo network when getting back. I'm sorry, but I really don't know where it is." And I wouldn't tell you even if I did know. If any of her Professors showed up or anyone else at school and Barty answered the door it would be a disaster. It's not like they got any visitors besides Narcissa and possessed wolves anyway so there was no reason for him not to answer the door.

"You get there by portkey?"

She nodded her head quickly at McGonagall's question. Her stomach twisted a moment later though. What if she asked her to hand over the portkey?

"Very well." A sigh of relief escaped her and she felt relieved when McGonagall didn't comment on the action. Though Snape looked about to when McGonagall spoke again, "I don't like it, but there's nothing to be done. However, there is still the issue of your match, Hermione. If you're not going out during the weekend to be with Blaise like you said before then I expect there to be an actual reason for you to have been skipping detention rather than some portkey taking you there at a designated time."

Hermione took a breath. This was the part of the conversation that she had prepared herself for after hearing about what Snape had done this weekend. The minutes she had gotten to do so would have to be enough. "He doesn't go to school here. I mean, he did, but not anymore. He graduated years ago, and that's why I leave during the weekends. Because of my schooling I only have to be there for two days instead of three, but the law requires that I be there or... the Ministry would say I had broken the law if I hadn't gone. I had to go. So I couldn't actually attend the detention anyway."

McGonagall was silent for a second. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

She bit at the inside of her cheek. "Because I promised Blaise I would cover for him and his match. Neither of us were to say anything about it. So telling you would have been going against that agreement."

"What about your match?"

Hermione felt herself freeze for a moment. "I... What are you asking?"

"Apologies." McGonagall glanced down at the papers in front of her before looking back at Hermione. "What I meant was... This is the same match that you rushed off to the Ministry of Magic to change, correct?" At Hermione's nod she continued, "So, it's not as bad as you thought. Right? If you're going to some destination you don't even know of you're okay with him then? Initially you didn't come back from the Ministry the next day after you left that night. I'm just worried about you. If there's anything you want to talk to me about you can. And if he's abusing you or anything you can tell me."

"No." She straightened in her chair. "I mean, I have a counselor for anything like that and though we got off on the wrong foot we're fine now. My counselor helped me with the situation of my match. That's why I took so long at the Ministry."

"That's good to hear."

Hermione shifted slightly in her seat. "You're not going to tell anyone else are you? My friends don't know because of my agreement with Blaise."

"Aren't you going to ask her who her match is?" Snape snapped before McGonagall could say anything else. His eyes were narrowed as he looked at Hermione. "We both already know Blaise's true match. Don't you want to know her's as well?"

McGonagall glanced at Snape then back to Hermione. "I assume your reasoning for not telling anyone yet is because like Daphne you're not comfortable about saying anything?" Hermione nodded, resisting the urge to glare back at Snape. "Then I don't see any reason to hassle you over it. This marriage law was a surprise to everyone and it passed so quickly that no one had begun to get use to even the idea when the Ministry sent out those letters. I won't hold it against you if you don't want to say who it is. That's something you need to be ready for. And that's the end of the discussion, Severus." The woman had turned her head to frown at her fellow Professor when he opened his mouth to sneer again.

"Is it okay if I go down for breakfast now?" It seemed over, and now all she wanted was to get out of there.

"You may go."

The moment McGonagall gave her leave she was out of the room, heading back to the Gryffindor Commons to grab her bag before going down to the Great Hall. She located her friends quickly to sit beside them in an empty seat they must have saved. Hermione had gotten here a bit later than usual so the room held the entirety of the school except for a few stragglers.

"How did it go?" Ginny asked.

"It was fine," Hermione said, before adding, "It would have gone better if Snape hadn't been there." He had actually been demanding to know the name of her match... Well, at least he wasn't one of the Death Eaters that knew about Barty. It seemed that just included the Malfoy family. If he had known the Order would know, and so would her friends. She couldn't imagine they would keep it silent if they knew either.

"Was he trying to get you in more trouble?"

"Yeah. He probably wanted me to get detention again and go to it this time as well." Hermione said, stabbing her fork through a piece of bacon.

"That greasy old bat needs to find a different hobby." Ron snapped from across the table. "He enjoys giving out detention way too much."

"Don't forget about how he loves taking house points," Harry added. "Particularly Gryffindor. He doesn't take any from his own House."

"Prejudiced git." Ron supplied just as said man walked through the door from the front of the room with McGonagall, a deep scowl on his face. Even his pointed nose seemed to twitch in distaste.

As Snape went to his chair McGonagall had moved to Dumbledore's side, muttering something into his ear. Hermione watched from the corner of her eye as she bit into her bacon. There was a deep frown on her Head of House's face and when she moved over to her own seat Dumbledore stood up, even though he must have given the morning announcement already.

There wasn't any change to his own expression as he approached the podium but then he gave his wide smile when he was standing there again. "Settle down, everyone." His voice boomed around the room as usual and it went quiet. "I would like to welcome the Minister for Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, to this morning's feast!" The sound of the doors opening right then signaled his arrival and half the students must have looked over at the door. The other half was staring at Dumbledore, Hermione included. Surely he would have mentioned this at the beginning of the feast instead of now? Dumbledore's gaze was on the door as well as he started introducing those who must have accompanied the Minister. "I would also like to welcome Shacklebolt, Tiberius, Cuthota, and Crouch."

The bacon in her mouth tasted like ash at that last name. As she heard the footsteps coming closer her stomach twisted. She wished her table wasn't one of those in the middle of the room. At least she was sitting on the inner side so she didn't see them.

"Right, right. Thank you Dumbledore." That must have been the Minister as he passed by quickly on his way to the podium that Dumbledore was now standing by.

Hermione turned her head quickly so she was looking across the table at Ron Weasley instead of the front of the room. Her friend's face seemed to have gone as red as a tomato, but from the look on his face it wasn't out of embarrassment. He was glaring at the group still walking down the path between the tables. If she were to look toward Harry he would likely be doing the same.

The louder the footsteps got the slower they seemed to get to her. She tightened her grip on the fork, the metal threatening to cut into her skin. It was when the steps were at their slowest that she saw bits of smoke in front of her, just noticing Ginny's screwed up face a moment later. Cigarette smoke. Yet, she couldn't cough.

_Calm down._

The words floated at the edge of her mind. Her grip on the fork loosened, just barely held up in the air between her fingers.

_Remember, they can't mention your marriage. But, you must say something or they'll try again._

In the next second the footsteps were loud again, soon climbing up the steps to the raised platform that held the table all the Professors sat at. And, of course, the Minister and his odd little parade.

Her shoulders lowered as the smoke dissipated into the air. It was like every muscle in her body had loosened, no longer tight and strung. With a glance around the students she could see - without looking toward the podium - they didn't seem as tense as before either. More like they had just come from a relaxing massage, but their eyes said differently. Those still held fear, and others' - like Ron's - held anger.

"It's so nice to see all the hard-working students here at Hogwarts!" That was the Minister's voice again. The room was silent. Hermione didn't dare look up. She could hear a brief murmuring at the podium and she could only guess that the Minister had shared a few words with Dumbledore.

"For those of you new and old this is are new Minister for Magic, just appointed last year after Fudge resigned." It was only at Dumbledore's prompting that a few clapping hands came from the student populace. Most of it was from the Professors' table, but even that sounded forced.

It must have been enough for the Minister though. "Yes, that's very nice of you all." She couldn't see one smile from where she sat, a few of the students, like her weren't even looking at the podium. They seemed to have frozen over into statues in their seats. "I can't thank Dumbledore enough for my invitation here this morning." There was some applause at that, but then again, they liked Dumbledore. "Such charming students you have."

"Yes, they are." Dumbledore agreed, who must have been beaming to encourage his students to be on their best behavior in front of the Minister. No matter who he had just entered the room with.

"I'm sorry to have heard about the incident that happened just a few weeks ago in this very room. It is for that reason that I am here now with our former Azkaban resident. As many of you have already read in the Prophet, this man was falsely accused and imprisoned under the suspicion of being a Death Eater. It is unfortunate that we only learned the truth a few months ago and we would like to assure you that there is no reason to fear this man. He is just like you and I, law-abiding citizens of the Britain Ministry of Magic." There was a long pause.

"Could I get some ear plugs for the thunderous applause he keeps getting?" Barty. She noticed a student's eyes widen even with them looking directly at the podium.

The sound of the Minister clearing his throat was rather loud. "It is my understanding that some of you feared this man when fellow students of yours let a boggart loose in this very hall. For the younger years that may or may not know, a boggart takes the shape of something or anyone you fear the most. Apparently before horror struck this school most of you were having a rather fun time with this. It was also unfortunate when-"

"I believe they already heard this part." She had to force herself to set the fork down slowly instead of letting it clatter onto her plate, like she heard a few other utensils do.

"Yes, well, it's unfortunate that your image is tarnished in such a way. Wouldn't you think? Now, As I was saying-"

"Minister for less than a year, I bow before you. A stage will be raised and harlequins will perform on this ground where you have resigned. Pass on in silence and bear us no speeches."

A single snort of laughter came from a corner of the room. "I-What?"

"I want to leave this horrendous performance. What say you?" Barely a second later she could hear three sets of feet coming down the stairs, between her table and another, heading towards her.

_You must say something or they'll try again._

The words floated through her mind once more, though she still wasn't sure where they had initially come from. Say something? Why did she have to say something? The Minister had done his speech already. Barty, one of the people she presumed to be Cuthota, and one of the other men were leaving already. What could she possibly say to make the Minister not try and use her and Barty to show that he wasn't a Death Eater? Hadn't he had enough already?

_Say something._

There it was again. Those footsteps were louder now, so loud they would be passing her any second. Barty had to be in the front... "Thank you," the words slipped out just as she heard his boot fall behind her, and then continue walking down the aisle toward the door.

Something clattered on the plate across from her and she forced her eyes down to not see the expression Ron currently wore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... *insert more dots* No, I really don't know why Barty is quoting Princess Mononoke in here.


	26. Chapter 26

Hermione peered out of the corner of her eye to the podium. She would rather look there than towards Ron or any of her friends.

The Minister, Rufus Scrimgeour had a red tint to his face. Though she was unsure if that was because of his own embarrassment or anger. Tiberius, the only one still standing next to the Minister was hissing something in the man's ear. Even with the Great Hall this silent it was impossible to make sense of the sounds, it was just like the rattling of a snake. The Minister seemed to get a hold of himself, not quite still as the second before, his gaze was moving quickly over the students. For a moment she thought he was threatening them to make any comment about what had just happened. Then his gaze landed on her, his eyes narrowed into slits for a fraction of a second before with a curl of his lip he turned away and started walking down the podium, fast.

She ducked her head back down as the Minister and Tiberius passed by and soon the door to the hall was closed behind them. There was no noise after that for at least ten seconds, and then the Great Hall was full of voices talking swiftly,

_"Did you see his face? He looked outraged!"_

_"What did we just witness?"_

_"Not fluff and peanut butter, that's for sure."_

_"Fluff?"_

_"Marshmallow."_

_"Say that next time, then."_

_"Next time?"_

_"How does fluff and peanut butter taste?"_

_"_ _Nirvana!"_

_"Was is just me or was he glaring at us?"_

_"Stark-raving mad."_

_"I need to tell my mum about this."_

_"Too bad the Prophet wasn't here to catch that."_

_"The Minister controls what the Prophet publishes dumb ass."_

_"Yeah, he wouldn't allow that."_

_"It would sell."_

_"Potential witnesses for the_ _Quibller_ _publication? The one place for real news."_

"What the bloody hell was that?" Ron's voice cut through the flow of voices. "Hermione?" She closed her eyes, just wanting to drown herself in the waves of talk around her. Couldn't he just leave it alone? "Why the hell did you just thank him? He's a Death Eater," that last sentence was hissed, though there was no reason to. The multitude of voices around them made it near impossible to hear what Ron was saying. She supposed she should be thankful that his voice remained low.

"That's hardly his biggest offense." Her finger twitched at the sound of Harry's voice. She didn't want him to bring up Barty's crimes again.

"Right." Ron jumped in quickly. "He put Remus in the hospital and would have killed Harry if given the chance. All in the name of you-know-who. What in Merlin's name could you have been thanking him for? For not bleeding Remus out?"

"Hey, stop it." Ginny snapped at her brother. "You too, Harry. She was already interrogated by McGonagall earlier, she doesn't need the two of you ganging up on her now." She was on the verge of sending a silent thank you to her friend when Ginny spoke again, "That being said. Why would you thank him for anything? Seeing the Minister made a fool of in public is a treat, sure, but I still don't understand-"

Hermione drained the rest of the juice from her glass, setting it on the table before she got up swiftly, already moving away and towards the doors. There were other students heading out already and she ignored the loudly hissed, "Hermione!" from behind her, just walking forward, out of the room into the hallway.

Judging by the scraping of wood on the floor though the three of them were getting up and would be following her out any second now. Her gaze moved swiftly through the hall and the students walking around, looking for the one person that could get her out of this.

"No." Her eyes flickered over at the sound of Draco's voice. He was currently glaring at Luna Lovegood; sporting a pair of funky glasses that looked like they had been stolen off a muggle hipster, a roll of parchment in hand along with a quill floating in the air beside her. Though instead of the usual grey feather it was fluffy and pink, somehow complimenting her chosen pair of glasses. The earrings shaped like sea horses just looked out of place with her other accessories. Luna had a style she wasn't sure she would ever understand, but if Draco was near the end of the hall then Blaise couldn't be too far away.

She began to walk over swiftly, not missing out on their conversation though with Luna's distinct dream-state voice and Draco's ever rising tone.

"It's just needed for a witness account and you could even add your view to it-"

"I don't want to be mentioned in any way in your stupid tabloid you bloody lunatic! Stop asking!"

Despite being yelled at Luna didn't look the least deterred from her chosen task. She simply grabbed the floating quill and started writing on the paper in front of her, speaking out loud, "Draco Malfoy was very expressive of his views on today's event-"

A rip sounded through the air as Draco grabbed the parchment and tore it from Luna's grasp. "I said I don't want to be in your bloody paper. Didn't your father ever teach you not to hassle people over such insignificant things? Or did your mother just not get the chance before she blew herself up?"

Her footsteps stopped for a moment.  _What?_  If he knew such a personal thing why would he bring it up? More importantly-

"Hermione!" Ron's shout from behind her spurred her forward past Draco who was still snarling at Luna while he balled up the parchment, throwing it at her head. Luna caught it when it bounced back down in the palms of her hands, speaking too softly for her to hear.

She spotted Blaise just beyond Draco quickly enough. Daphne wasn't too far away either, running a hand absently through her hair while looking out at the crowd of people before catching sight of her. For a moment her lips pursed, then she looked to her left, giving a small nod to Blaise.

Hermione sighed softly when she approached him, feeling better about getting Daphne's permission and that she had kept it subtle. Blaise merely wrapped his arms around her when she stepped forward, drawing her close to him and whispering soothing words into her ear.

She could hear them walking over towards her anyway, "Hey, Hermione-" There was a sharp slap delivered to the hand that must have reached for her as she heard Ron curse a second later.

"She didn't come over here to see you, weaselbee." Her eyes widened to hear Malfoy's voice fill the air. "In fact, it looks like she wants nothing to do with you. So why don't you just scram?"

"As if you know her at all to make that sort of assumption-"

"Oh, did I hurt your feelings? So sorry, but it looks like she came over to see her match, Blaise. Or had you forgotten about that in your desperate attempt to hassle her over something she had no control over?"

"No control over?" Ron practically screamed, though at this point she wasn't sure if he was more mad at what she had said in the Great Hall or at Malfoy. "What would you know about it? Nothing! So get out of the way so we can speak to our friend!"

"I can't believe your so stupid," Draco's voice was close to sounding like venom being spit through the air. "It must be because of your family status. You've fallen so below in the Ministry that you no longer know how it truly operates. I would enlighten you myself if you weren't so daft, but I would rather not waste my time on a blood traitor. Get lost. That goes for you too, Potter, and the little weaselette."

"You-"

"Ron," Ginny cut in. "Come on. We have class." Their footsteps echoed in her ears as they walked down the hall. Ron's mutterings never quite met her ears but she could guess what he was saying by the tone of his voice.

She kept her arms secured around Blaise for awhile longer. Until she couldn't hear them anymore before even considering loosening her grip. Hermione took a breath as she stepped back away from him. "I'm sorry for involving you in that."

"It's fine." Blaise said, his eyes swept over the hall before resting back on her. "Just keeps the rumor fresh. Besides, I should be the one that's sorry for what happened back there."

"What do you have to be sorry for?" Draco had turned to face them now, a scowl still present on his face. She found herself wondering just how long he had been wearing that sour expression. It had been there even when he had been speaking to Luna... "It was my idea. You just went with it. Now let's get going before we're late."

"Right." Blaise pushed himself away from the wall, following after Draco down the near empty hall, only stopping for a moment to glance over his shoulder. "Don't let the Ministry get to you," he said, before walking around the corner.

Hermione turned around, not wanting to chance meeting her friends in the hall again after everything that had already happened. Instead her eyes landed on a curtain of blonde hair at the other end of the hall and she quickly sprinted forward. "Luna?" The girl's head was down, long hair obscuring her face. "Are you okay?" She could still hardly believe Draco would say such things to her. Even if she had been annoying him there had been no reason to go that far.

"Hmm?" Luna's head raised slowly, hair flowing back from her face. "Oh, I'm fine," she said it with a smile but somehow her skin seemed paler than usual. There was an obvious tear stain on her cheek that Hermione would have used so the girl couldn't blow her off so easily but Luna raised her hand to rub it away before she could comment on it. "Really. It's nothing."

"But you were-" Crying. She wanted to say it, but couldn't get the word out with Luna smiling at her like that.

"It's just memories." Luna stepped away from the wall, arms hanging loosely by her sides. "Walk with me?" Hermione wasn't sure she could refuse. No matter what she said Luna didn't look okay. She gave a nod and the blonde smiled. "Thank you."

It was silent for awhile as they walked through the halls, occasionally spotting a student that was racing to class rather than walking like them. She should probably be more concerned at getting to class as well, but she was unsure about leaving Luna right now. Even if they weren't close she had been part of the D.A. last year. If she wanted to walk with her for a bit that was fine. Both of their classes were in the same direction anyway, thankfully away from her own friends.

"I-" Luna stopped short and Hermione glanced over at her. A small smile curled the girl's lips up, a soft laugh leaving her a second later. "I realize this is inappropriate but, he was protecting you. Wasn't he? I could see it in the aura."

Her feet stopped carrying her forward. What was she talking about? Was it Blaise or Draco? She couldn't tell. "Yes." It seemed safe enough to answer.

Luna had stopped walking a couple steps ahead of her, looking up at the arcing ceiling above. "I've never seen anything like it. With such a glow, covering you from head-to-toe. Or well, I guess I have, it just wasn't so bright before. It never is when the other isn't there. That's what mom said anyways. I recognized it because she described it to me once..." There was a soft sigh. "It's a shame something so beautiful comes from such pain."

She felt herself go still. Luna couldn't possibly be talking about Blaise or Draco. Neither of them had ever caused her pain. Not really. Nothing like-

_It was burning, she could smell it, her own skin peeling away._

_Blood was running freely down her torso in small rivulets..._

_"You're lying to me."_

_...fingers clasped around her throat..._

She drew in a shaky breath. After pushing the memory away this morning she didn't want it coming back now. "You're thinking about it aren't you? When he hurt you?" Hermione raised her head, eyes meeting Luna's own. "You don't have to say it. I know. It must have been terrible, not knowing why...  _oh_." The blonde's eyes widened. "He hasn't told you."

"What are you talking about?" She had always thought Luna strange but this just proved it. Talking about auras, about what he did to her. That was something she shouldn't know about. The other just sounded like the typical things Luna said, why she had such a nickname attached to her.

Luna just lowered her head, lips slipping from the usual smile that she wore throughout the day. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have intruded."

Her soft steps echoed in her head when Luna turned away and started down the hall. What had that just been? Sorry for intruding? On what? There was nothing to intrude on, and why did she just bring that up? She thought she had suppressed the memory by now. The questions kept swirling through her mind as her gut twisted hard, acid burning her throat as she fought to keep the contents of her stomach from sliding up her esophagus and slipping past her lips. "What..." she swallowed,  _hard_. "Do you mean?"

Luna didn't stop walking when she replied, "It's personal. Not something anyone would be comfortable speaking about. I shouldn't have brought it up."

"Brought what up?" Hermione snapped. She already dealt with Barty enough to know when someone was evading a question and she was starting to get sick of that particular game. No matter if it was something 'good' or not for anyone.

"Crystallus Gratia." Luna didn't look at her once when she spoke so quietly that Hermione wasn't sure she had spoken at all.

She wanted to question her further but the girl had turned to another hall, one that went away from her own destination. Though she was already a few minutes late and didn't care for another round of questioning from any Professors concerning her whereabouts during the weekend. It being Monday would keep any detention she might get during the week, though this particular professor probably hadn't even noticed she was missing yet, probably wouldn't notice if she didn't show up at all for class. But she couldn't chance it after everything that had already happened.

Hermione sighed and made her way to the classroom. At least it wasn't Snape's class, that would have been a worst case scenario after everything else that had happened today. Now she just had to stay away from her friends... for as long as she could anyway.


End file.
